WEBVTT
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The world is loud, truth feels confusing, and life has a way of making us forget what matters most.
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But through scripture, honest conversation, and real stories of faith, remember who the king is exists for one purpose: to point back to Jesus.
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This is more than a podcast.
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It's a reminder.
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The king is still on the throne.
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Welcome back to Remember Who the King Is.
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This is uh part two of a two-part episode that we are doing on Ruth.
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Last episode we saw heartbreak, we saw loyalty, we talked about faith, we talked about uh godly manhood.
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We talked about so much.
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So if you have not listened to the previous episode, stop right here.
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I want you to come back here, but stop, go listen to that episode, and then come back.
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This is a continuation of that.
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Uh, but today things get quite interesting.
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So I'm excited to jump right back into Ruth.
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On the last episode, Donnie talked about how much of a treasure this is, this scripture is, and it really is so many things that we can learn and glean from this.
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And I hope that you will you will take that into account.
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And as we read, you will not only read along with us, but grab a notebook.
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Uh, as we talk, write down some things that stand out to you, and most importantly, write out write down some things that you can practically use in your own life.
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Fellas, it's good to be back in Ruth.
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Great to see here.
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Great, great to be here.
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Looking forward to the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey says.
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I remember the story it is.
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You know, this generation's gonna be like, what is he talking about?
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It was Paul Harvey.
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Who's Paul Harvey?
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Uh I remember I remember that.
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Do you remember there was a um there was a Super Bowl commercial that had Paul Harvey in it?
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Do you remember this?
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Oh.
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It's a it is, and the it's about uh oh, it's a he taught he's talking about farmers and about the farmer.
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Yeah, yeah, the farmer.
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Yeah, he's talking about that, and it's so good.
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And I think they put it in like a truck commercial or something, but uh anyway, it's he came on, and I remember the reason I remember that is because I was at a Super Bowl party and that came on, and people were like, Oh, this is a good commercial.
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And I'm like, that's it's Paul Harvey, he's great.
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And they were like, who?
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I don't know who you're talking about.
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It was Paul Harvey.
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Oh, but I remember my dad used to used to listen.
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So um this is a fantastic episode, Donnie.
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I'm not gonna waste any more time.
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Let's let's run right back into the scripture here.
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Okay, that sounds great.
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So we're gonna pick up in uh Ruth chapter three, Ruth at the Threshing Floor.
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One day Naomi said to Ruth, My daughter, it's time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you'll be provided for.
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Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he's been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women.
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Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor.
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Now do as I tell you.
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Take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes.
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Then go to the threshing floor, but don't let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking.
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Be sure to notice where he lies down.
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Then go over and uncover his feet and lie down there.
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He will tell you what to do.
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I will do everything you say, Ruth replied.
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So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother in law.
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After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep.
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Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
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Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over.
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He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet.
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Who are you?
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he asked.
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I am your servant Ruth, she replied.
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Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.
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The Lord blesses you, my daughter, Boaz exclaimed, You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor.
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Now don't worry about a thing, my daughter, I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman.
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But while it's true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am.
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Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him.
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If he is willing to redeem you, very well, let him marry you.
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But if he's not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself.
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Now lie down here until morning.
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So Ruth lay at Boaz's feet until morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other, for Boaz had said, No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.
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Then Boaz said to her, Bring your cloak and spread it out.
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He measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back.
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Then he returned to town.
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When Ruth went back to her mother in law, Naomi asked, What happened, my daughter?
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Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, and she added, He gave me the six scoops of barley and said, Don't go back to your mother in law empty handed.
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Then Naomi said to her, Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens.
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The man won't rest until he has settled things today.
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Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there.
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Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by.
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So Bo Boaz called out to him, Come over here and sit down, friend.
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I want to talk to you.
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So they sat down together.
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Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses.
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And Boaz said to the family redeemer, You know Naomi, who came back from Moab.
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She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
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I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish.
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If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses, but if you don't want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.
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The man replied, All right, I'll redeem it.
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Then Boaz told him, Of course your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow.
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That way she can have children who will carry on her husband's name and keep the land in the family.
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Then I can't redeem it, the family redeemer replied, because this might endanger my own estate.
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You redeem the land, I cannot do it.
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Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party.
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This publicly validated the transaction, so the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, you buy the land.
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Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, you are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Killian, and Malon, and with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Milan to be my wife.
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This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown.
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You are all witnesses today.
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Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, We are witnesses.
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May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended.
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May you prosper in Ephertithe and be famous in Bethlehem, and may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.
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So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife.
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When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.
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Then the women of the town said to Naomi, Praise the Lord who has now provided a redeemer for your family.
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May this child be famous in Israel.
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May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age, for he is a son of your daughter in law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons.
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Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast, and she cared for him as if he were her own.
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The neighbor women said, Now at last Naomi has a son again, and they named him Obed.
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He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of King David.
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This is a genealogical record of the ancestor Perez.
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Perez was the father of Hezron.
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Hezron was a father of Ram.
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Ram was a father of Amenedad.
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Amenedad was a father of Neshon.
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Nashon was a father of Salmon.
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Salmon was a father of Boaz.
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Boaz was a father of Obed.
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Obed was a father of Jesse.
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And Jesse was a father of King David.
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Hmm.
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So good.
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What a story.
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What a story.
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Only God could do that.
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Yeah, this one has a great the the ending is is so good with the genealogical record.
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I I just it ties it all together and you're like, wow, that's just incredible.
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And you know, it talked about Tamar and Judah again.
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Remember, they're the first ones we studied, remember?
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When we went back to the women of the you know, you couldn't you couldn't make it up.
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I mean, God, God, God placed that lineage of Jesus where he placed it in Matthew, for all of us who want to read and study the Bible to give us some insight into the where our where our faith comes from, exactly like you said, Chad.
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Where our faith comes from is a you know, is is a history of our faith.
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And the history of our of our lives is very important.
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I mean, you know, it's important for us today, it's important for our faith.
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And, you know, like we talked about last time, like you know, Mark was saying, and Chad expanded upon, you know, we live in a puzzle.
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We we we see through a glass dimly lit, like Paul wrote about.
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You know, we we well the the puzzle is being uh the master puzzle maker.
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You know, he is he's putting the pieces where they need to be.
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We can't see it all the time.
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But you know, Mark, that that's faith, like you've talked about so many times, you know, and and and you know, I I you know I'm really interested to hear what you have to say about the second part of of you know our study of Ruth and um what you've learned and and uh thought about over these past few days.
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You know, God's at work.
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Absolutely.
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In the hardest moments of life, um the gospel's woven.
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Um I personally feel like in in hearing chapter three and four, that you've got some really devout people in this story, and this throughout the whole chapter, but the second, third, and fourth chapter.
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Naomi's a good good woman.
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She's a good she's a good uh to Ruth, her daughter-in-law.
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And then, you know, she married to a relative of Boaz, right?
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She was married to a relative of Boaz.
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And Ruth is a is a good woman.
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And when Naomi gives Ruth instructions to go to the grain floor where Boaz is gonna be, and and and tells her, you know, what to do, and you know, put some nice clothes on, get a bathed, put on some perfume.
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Um Ruth follows her instructions exactly.
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No question whatsoever.
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And I think you know, it says there that you know he recognized her as being a virtuous woman.
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He he knew the family background, he knew the family history, he knew where she came from.
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And um, you know God's hand was was like you said in this whole decision.
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It's but it's it's it's it's always whether it's a movie or a book or a or a or a story in the Bible that we're looking at or or reading is to hope that the outcome is gonna be a good one.
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And then when it it does happen and you can kind of breathe a sigh of relief and go, okay, I'm glad that all worked out.
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But then to go back, like you said, you both of you guys have said, and and from the beginning even, and read it again and read it again, and see how the pieces of the puzzle are being put together by God to ultimately, I mean, what's the I mean, what's the I mean so they have a son, Obed, and Naomi's now a grandmother, which has got to be uplifting to her as well.
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And I'm sure, you know, when when Ruth married Boaz, that Naomi was kind of brought into the the loop of of wealth and and comfort, and and uh but then for later for for him to be the father of Jesse and then later the grandfather of King David.
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I mean that's and and that's a whole new beginning, right?
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A whole nother new beginning, a whole nother story, and uh so it's like I can't wait to read more and learn more and understand more and and see where all this all this goes.
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Yeah, I love that.
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I think that you mentioned you started off mentioning the situation with the the threshing floor, and I feel like in this story, especially when I first read it, um, it's probably one of the more misunderstood moments or or wondering what what really is going on here in this whole story, because people read this and uh especially today, if somebody's reading it for the first time, they immediately think, okay, this is weird, what's happening here?
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But if you really understand the culture and what uh she's asking her to do, it's not a scandal, it's really beautiful, and it speaks to Boaz's character too.
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It's not Ruth trying to seduce Boaz, it is Ruth essentially saying, Will you cover me?
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Will you redeem me?
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Will you take responsibility for me?
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And she is putting herself in this vulnerable uh position, and she is fully, fully trusting Boaz's character.
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And what I love is last episode we talked about, uh, we talked about Boaz and his character.
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And when you look at Boaz's response in this, he handles the moment perfectly.
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He handles the moment with honor, with integrity, with righteousness.
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He doesn't exploit the situation, he doesn't take advantage of her vulnerability, he protects her reputation, he does things the right way, and this really drives it home to me how incredible of a guy Boaz is and how much character he really does have.
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I think there's also in this specific session uh section um a practical lesson for today.
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I think if you if you look at maybe ask how different how different would relationships look nowadays if people operated with this kind of character and honor.
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And you have two people here, one of the person is persons is very vulnerable, but they're a hundred percent committed to being vulnerable because they one hundred percent trust the other person's character.
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And I think that's lost nowadays.
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Even you know, even with me, I mean, when I go out, it takes me a while to fully trust somebody and to really trust that they have good character.
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Even when you when you know someone a little bit, that's hard.
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But this kind of relationship is is a biblical kind of relationship, and um commitment matters, character matters, integrity matters.
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Um and nowadays I feel like people a lot of times are asking, what can I get out of it?
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Um, what's in this for me?
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But in this, we see that picture that that's not even a thought.
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It's what can I do for her?
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How can I protect her?
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How can I honor her?
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And it's just beautiful.
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It's a beautiful situation when you fully understand what's going on there.
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You know, and and uh to the to that point, you know, you know, in that culture, you know, Boaz, he obviously loves Ruth.
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Okay, you know, he loves Ruth.
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I mean, he you know, he he you know, he's protected her, he's watched her, she's you know, become a part of his life.
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You know, he you know, he uh you know he refers to her as my daughter, you know, Naomi refers to her over and over as my daughter.
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You know, they love Ruth.
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Okay, they love Ruth in large part because of her character.
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I mean, what what a lesson for all of us.
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How can you not love Ruth?
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I mean, Ruth is you know, her character is just incredible.
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And when Boaz says, you know, there's another one, another relative closer than me, you know, I've got to go talk to him about this.
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Yeah.
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You know, we're not gonna, we're not gonna just rush into something.
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You know, you're a virtuous woman.
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You know, we're gonna do this thing the right way.
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You know, he he he goes in front of the the leaders of his community.
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He he he's a leader in the community.
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Boaz, he, you know, he's doing his thing the right way.
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He doesn't want to have any issues, he doesn't want to create any problem for Ruth because he cares about Ruth, right?
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And he and he is a man of character.
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Like you're saying, Chad.
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How big a deal is that?
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I mean, you know, and and and how what an example it is for us, you know, and uh, you know, as uh a person who's you know really in tuned and you know up on what's going on in social media and the and the pulse that these young people today especially are facing, what an example, you know, but as in Ruth's story, and they owe me uh to how how to handle situations in life.
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Sure.
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Could have shortcut.
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Yeah, he could have easily took shortcuts.
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But you know, character is who you are when I guess shortcuts are available.
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You choose to do the right thing.
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Something else that I picked up on.
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So when they went before all the other townsmen to consummate this transaction, I didn't totally realize that Naomi owned this land.
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So that was that was her husband's land.
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:46.319
Um which there again that played right into the you know why they were there was to to negotiate the the transaction.
00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:49.519
And you know, think about it.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:23:03.759
Had Ruth not left and gone back with with Naomi from the very beginning and left like the other daughter-in-law did, and left Naomi on her own to go back to Bethlehem.
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:19.920
I mean, just piece of the pieces of pieces and pieces and pieces and faith and faith and redemption and it's just all tied into God's plan.
00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:22.799
You know, another thing.
00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:24.000
I'm sorry, go ahead.
00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:27.119
You know, another thing that I've I've thought about.
00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:38.720
Here again, Chad, you know, I'm real interested in, you know, what you have to think about this because uh Mark and I have grown children and we grandchildren.
00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:47.920
I mean, you know, so we're we're sort of at a different stage than in life, you know, than than you are, because you know, you have younger sons and a younger family.
00:23:48.079 --> 00:24:02.000
And you know, one thing that really jumps out to me in this story, and I I'd like to talk about this a bit if y'all, if y'all want, is that when Ruth tells Naomi, my daughter, right?
00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:03.839
He she refers to her as my daughter.
00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:07.039
You know, Naomi loves Ruth, okay?
00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:08.480
There ain't no question about it.
00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:11.519
They have a deep affection for one another.
00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:23.519
And when Ruth needs guidance, she does not question Naomi because she knows that Naomi loves her, right?
00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:31.279
And I think so many times today in the world we live in, when you know, when Mark and I were younger, you know, Google weren't around.
00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:37.519
I mean, you know, we didn't really have that way, that wasn't a resource for us to solve problems.
00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:41.839
We didn't go to AI for, you know, to tell us what to do and all that.
00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:51.519
We typically went to our parents, our aunts, or our uncles, or people who were a little older than us, that had experience or close friends or whatever.
00:24:51.759 --> 00:25:00.400
You know, and we we made decisions based on on the information from coming from people who who we knew loved us and cared about us, right?
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:23.279
And I think today is such a real dilemma is how I would describe it for younger people who are influenced by people who they don't really know, who don't really maybe have their best interest at heart, they don't really have all the information to help them make a good decision, and that a lot is lost there.
00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:32.559
I I think that the the the example of the closeness of Naomi and Ruth, you know, is is a big, big deal.
00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:52.400
And I I I just kind of thinking out loud, and you tell me what you think, Chad, but I I think that's something that's really sadly not uh taken advantage of enough in our society today is the wise counsel of people who love us instead of something on social media or Google or whatever.
00:25:52.559 --> 00:26:09.920
What do you think about that, Chad, as far as it's it, you know, that closeness in this story to me, you know, the closest of Naomi and you know, and Ruth and Ruth and Boaz, but when that, you know, when when it says she doesn't question what she tells her.
00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:11.519
She knows she loves her.
00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:16.880
She followed her lead, and it led her to be redeemed.
00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:19.039
How do you think that?
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.119
I don't know.
00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:23.119
I just wish we saw more of that today.
00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:24.079
What do you think about that?
00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:27.839
I think that's a uh what you just said, I think, is a big lesson here.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:36.720
Uh you know, when I was when I was uh young, my parents got divorced when I was about seven years old.
00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:40.880
Um I really didn't have uh a father figure.
00:26:41.119 --> 00:27:03.680
I definitely didn't have a uh a godly father figure in my life, and it wasn't until I was about uh 11 or 12, of course, me and my mom were pretty close, but I didn't really have someone since I'm a male that I felt was on that same level with me, and I could ask those types of questions and talk about all sorts of things with.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:22.319
And as I when I when I became, I think it was about 12 years old, the principal at the school, I'm very thankful my mom put me in a Christian school, and um the principal at that school became that figure for me.
00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:37.599
And I can look back and see that you just talked about uh with Ruth, how she ended up was mostly because she completely trusted Naomi enough to listen and do those things.
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:41.680
So I think the big lesson is that I can look back on my life too.
00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:52.720
Your your life and ultimately your circumstances and where you end up and your decisions, all of that in the end is not all you.
00:27:53.119 --> 00:28:00.319
It's for sure, it's a lot of your stuff and your decision in your mind, but a lot of it is those influences that we have.
00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.759
And I can look back, and my principal, his name was Mr.
00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:08.079
Wall, and he had a huge influence in my life.
00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:14.160
And a lot of the decisions that I made were because I would go and say, Hey, Mr.
00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:15.440
Wall, I need to talk to you.
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:23.119
And we'd have a conversation, and that would heavily influence what I did in that decision multiple, multiple, multiple times.
00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:29.200
So I can look back and say, if it wasn't for God, if it wasn't for my mom, but also if it wasn't for Mr.
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:40.720
Wall, who in my mind was that person that I could 100% trust and count on and listen to and know that he had my best interest, like you said, Donnie, at heart.
00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:43.200
So it affected my, it affected everything.
00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:48.079
It affected my life, my decisions, um how things turned out.
00:28:48.319 --> 00:29:02.559
Even nowadays, I can look back um and think of times when I didn't have him, but I would recount conversations I had when I did know him and use those conversations and make a decision now.
00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:18.640
So I think that the one of the biggest keys of uh today, how people make horrible decisions and uh do things they shouldn't and end up places they don't want to be is because they don't have that godly counsel.
00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:39.359
And I hope the listeners will take that into account and say, man, if I don't have somebody like that in my life, you can you can find somebody like that, you can pray for somebody like that, you can go and join a church body and and have someone like that in your life if it's not your pastor, somebody, a leader in the church, a teacher.
00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:41.359
It's so, so important.
00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:42.559
Like you said, Donnie.
00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:48.400
And a lot of kids now, you know, growing up in a single parent home, they don't have a even a parent figure.
00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.160
So it's even more so important.
00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:57.519
So I think that goes a lot towards how how things are nowadays and how they've gotten worse over time.
00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:00.640
Um, people just not having that in their life.
00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:08.000
Well, let me let me ask you this, you know, kind of we we touched on this a little bit, you know, in the previous exp episode.
00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:12.799
It's I well, I mean, this is just my thought about it.
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:18.799
I don't believe anything that happens on a wide scale worldwide is coincidence, right?
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:28.480
God is at work in the world, and there's a you know, the the king is on the throne, he's at work, and there's an enemy in this world, and he's he's he's he's working too.
00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:39.440
And it's not by chance, at least in my view, I'm curious to see what you guys have to say, that Christian masculinity is under attack.
00:30:39.680 --> 00:31:06.400
You know, that that we as Christian men are being barraged with every kind of image and anything and everything you can think of to tell us that we you know we shouldn't be, we shouldn't be taking charge, we shouldn't be stepping forward, we should cower down to whoever or whatever, you know, that that we should go along to get along, you know, in this world that we're living in.
00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:17.839
And like Boaz in this story, you know, we all have an opportunity as men, you know, Christian men as followers of Christ, to step up and be kind to people, right?
00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:27.759
To to take an interest in these young people that we pass by, whether you know we're related to them or not, you know, but particularly to our family and stuff.
00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:43.599
And when I read this, and you know, all the emphasis on family and the way Boaz just steps into this situation, I don't think it's by chance that they call him the family redeemer, because he's he's like a picture of our Redeemer, right?
00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:51.680
Who steps up and you know, and he you know, he did what was necessary to save us, right?
00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:54.079
He did what was necessary to save us.
00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:56.559
Boaz saves Ruth and Naomi.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.599
He absolutely saved them.
00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:07.200
They are doomed without a godly man stepping forward and doing the right thing.
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:17.119
And and what a, you know, what an opportunity for us to step up and do that for people around us, you know, and it doesn't take a lot.
00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.519
Sometimes just a hey, how you doing?
00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:21.279
I've been thinking about you.
00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:22.720
How's everything going?
00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:30.480
You know, that goes a long, long way, particularly when a person is struggling the way Ruth was and the way Naomi was in his story.
00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:34.240
And I'm just curious, I want to be more like Boaz.
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:40.160
I'm not saying I'm like him, you know, I mean, but it's something to aspire to after reading the story.
00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:41.200
What do y'all think about that?
00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:51.039
Well, I don't know about the fact that you know, and the fact that his character was as such, you know, obviously someone had an influence on him.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:55.599
True at some point in time and his wife with his upbringing.
00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:56.240
Yeah.
00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:13.039
Um but going back to what you guys were talking about the youth and connecting with the youth and them having a a role model, a godly role model, male or female, but let's just say either.
00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:13.759
Right.
00:33:14.400 --> 00:33:32.640
There's so many youth organizations, I think, that are out there that young people can can be involved in, starting with the church, starting with you know, the fellowship uh organizations, youth organizations at church.
00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:44.960
And then you could go from there to as you get a little older, you know, we've talked about if you're an athlete and you've got the fellowship of Christian athletes, FCA.
00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:48.640
You've got the Boys and Girls Club of America.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:55.920
Uh my wife has has worked with them, and she currently works um at a at a Christian school.
00:33:56.079 --> 00:34:01.119
Chad, you mentioned you know, your your family had you involved in a Christian school.
00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:06.400
All those are pieces of puzzle again.
00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:30.639
I feel like that help put a child's mind and mindset in a position to be able to have a chance, have an understanding, and and be able to say say no to peers that are wanting them to go in a different direction.
00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:40.880
And and I mean I don't think you're I don't think you're ever you're never too young to to read the Bible or understand the Bible, whether you're not able to read it.
00:34:41.280 --> 00:35:08.159
It can be read to you, and then there's there's Bible on tape, there's books on tape, there's there's just a lot of positive resources out there that are available that that that parents I think can can guide their children towards and in those directions uh if if if that if if they need that help, if they need that that understanding.
00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:18.559
Yeah, I think it's really important for them to get uh plugged in, like you said, Mark, and I'm glad you brought that up.
00:35:18.719 --> 00:35:41.280
I I was thinking about the my story and um my history with that, and I I if I wouldn't have had at the moment that I did my principals step in, I I would have needed to find something, and that is a great resource, uh great resource, these groups.
00:35:41.519 --> 00:36:02.880
Um we have I mean we have a lot of people at our church that are involved in several of those, and I think that can be absolutely be the difference between someone going the right way and someone going the wrong way is getting plugged in to people who are gonna encourage them and godly counsel.
00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:16.159
And I think that the more and more we go along into the future, we're gonna see, you know, Satan wants to disarm the army of God.
00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:17.360
He wants to disarm us.
00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:44.239
And one of the ways he disarms us is he distracts the leaders and he distracts the men and distracts the women who are leading and trying to change children's lives because he knows if you can distract the leaders and you can get rid of some of these groups, uh the children are gonna grow up and they're gonna go the wrong way, and that's what he wants.
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:53.760
So I think we're gonna see more and more of those types of clubs and groups and organizations and associations become under attack.
00:36:53.920 --> 00:37:05.119
And I think that's one of the biggest reasons that it's so it's so str it's so powerful to keep the scripture fresh and to read it every day and to stay close to God.
00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:21.440
And even even a podcast like this, and this is not me shouting out for us, but even something like this that you listen to and you can get in your mind and get in your head, and every day listen where you're getting the word in, into your heart.
00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:28.400
Uh, the Bible talks about getting the word into your heart because once it's in your heart, it becomes a part of you.
00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:33.519
And you get in a situation, you try to make a decision and you don't know which way to go.
00:37:33.679 --> 00:37:35.360
Oh, I remember that scripture.
00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:43.679
Psalm 34, I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth, my soul shall make her boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:45.599
Uh, oh, magnify the Lord with me.
00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:46.960
Let us exalt his name together.
00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:52.239
Those scriptures, those are scriptures I memorized when I was young, when I was a child.
00:37:52.320 --> 00:38:10.000
And if we can get those scriptures, and if we as leaders and parents and men and women and people in the organizations, I hope some of you are listening to me, if you can get that scripture and the living word of God inside these young minds, you you literally mold them from the inside out, and that becomes part of their life.
00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:11.760
So I'm glad you brought up those groups, Mark.
00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:20.559
I think it's it's a good challenge for us to guard our hearts and even become involved in whatever we can.
00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:26.960
I think Donnie, you said you're involved in the uh Christian, what is it, what it Christian athletes?
00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:30.400
Uh well, we do, yeah, some different things like that.
00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:35.039
That uh, you know, I've been involved in athletics all my life, you know.
00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:39.679
So for me, that's a that's a you know, that's a natural mission field, right?
00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:41.679
You know, so everybody's got something.
00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:57.119
I mean, we all have interest, you know, and opportunities to um interact with people, and what a blessing, you know, to be able to, you know, for for me and I think for most people, uh, you know, I need to feel needed.
00:38:57.440 --> 00:38:58.800
I need to feel needed.
00:38:59.119 --> 00:39:02.159
Boaz was needed in this situation.
00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:04.320
You know, it's interesting if you think about it.
00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:07.119
Ruth was needed by Naomi.
00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:14.320
Naomi was needed by Ruth, and and they all needed Boaz, and Boaz really needed them.
00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:19.199
I mean, you know, to be able to redeem and to do, to shine, right?
00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:20.719
For his light to shine.
00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:40.320
But if they're not connected in any way, or they're not, you know, they're not uh doing things that involve them and other people, and if they don't each step forward when the opportunity came along, they each step forward for when someone was in need, and they helped meet that need.
00:39:40.480 --> 00:39:45.199
And God used that whole thing to place them in a lineage of Jesus.
00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:47.039
Now you couldn't make that up.
00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:57.519
I mean, that's just not by chance, you know, and so we may think our life is all out of place, you know, like we talked about earlier, you know, that the the example of a puzzle.
00:39:57.679 --> 00:40:00.079
We don't know where we are in the puzzle.
00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:02.880
But that puzzle's gonna come together.
00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:05.360
It's gonna come together, you know.
00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:09.760
And and we just gotta hang in there and and do what we can when we can.
00:40:09.840 --> 00:40:13.599
And I I just felt like the story of Ruth and Boaz and Naomi.
00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:17.920
What a beautiful story of how God is at work.
00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:21.360
And then he tied Tamar and Judah into it too.
00:40:22.159 --> 00:40:27.599
You know, when I read that earlier, I thought, my gosh, man, they got them in there too.
00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:29.920
And we just read about them a couple of weeks ago.
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:31.840
I mean, you know, it's just really remarkable.
00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:34.239
I think God is good all the time.
00:40:34.800 --> 00:40:44.960
He is all the time, and there's opportunities for us to connect other people and to and to seek godly counsel as a younger person if you'll take advantage of it.
00:40:45.199 --> 00:40:45.599
Yeah.
00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:53.199
I like the one thing about the puzzle, and it just hit me because we're talking about genealogy and the lineage of Jesus.
00:40:53.440 --> 00:41:04.079
That puzzle, like when I was when we were talking about it earlier, Mark, you're talking about the puzzle, I'm thinking the puzzle is our life, but the puzzle really is all it overlaps generations.
00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:15.679
Your puzzle, what you do right here, your puzzle is going to continue to grow and continue to grow and continue to grow, and that is going to affect someone or many people down the road.
00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:22.079
That's really cool watching what God does throughout generations and how these these things are all so interconnected.
00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:23.840
Uh he's his plan.
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:24.880
Yeah.
00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:29.199
Do y'all have anything else to add?
00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:33.280
I think it's a beautiful story.
00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:35.280
What a blessing to read it.
00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:37.920
Alright, I'm gonna close us out here.
00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:41.039
Uh actually, Donnie, you go ahead.
00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:42.719
I'll edit this little blip out here.
00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:45.679
Donnie, go ahead uh if you want to close us in prayer.
00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:46.320
Okay.
00:41:46.960 --> 00:41:54.079
Dear Lord, we thank you so much for this day that you created and this world that we live in and that we're a part of.
00:41:54.239 --> 00:42:00.719
And Lord, help us to view our lives as part of an amazing puzzle that you're putting together.
00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:05.679
And we may not always know where the pieces go, but we know that you do.
00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:20.719
And I pray that you're gonna be with us and for all the people that are listening or watching, and that they would desire to grow to read your word and grow in their faith and come to love and know Jesus Christ in an intimate and personal way.
00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:23.280
And we ask these things in Jesus' name.
00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:24.000
Amen.
00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:25.440
Amen.
00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:34.239
To learn more about our podcast and resources, head over to remember the king.com.
00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:13.119
The world is loud, truth feels confusing, and life has a way of making us forget what matters most.
00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:27.039
But through scripture, honest conversation, and real stories of faith, remember who the king is exists for one purpose: to point back to Jesus.
00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.199
This is more than a podcast.
00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:30.640
It's a reminder.
00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:35.200
The king is still on the throne.
00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:48.079
Welcome back to Remember Who the King Is.
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:55.679
This is uh part two of a two-part episode that we are doing on Ruth.
00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:06.319
Last episode we saw heartbreak, we saw loyalty, we talked about faith, we talked about uh godly manhood.
00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:07.680
We talked about so much.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.400
So if you have not listened to the previous episode, stop right here.
00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:16.879
I want you to come back here, but stop, go listen to that episode, and then come back.
00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.040
This is a continuation of that.
00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:24.560
Uh, but today things get quite interesting.
00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:28.959
So I'm excited to jump right back into Ruth.
00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:39.359
On the last episode, Donnie talked about how much of a treasure this is, this scripture is, and it really is so many things that we can learn and glean from this.
00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:42.719
And I hope that you will you will take that into account.
00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:47.599
And as we read, you will not only read along with us, but grab a notebook.
00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:57.920
Uh, as we talk, write down some things that stand out to you, and most importantly, write out write down some things that you can practically use in your own life.
00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:01.599
Fellas, it's good to be back in Ruth.
00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:03.519
Great to see here.
00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:05.439
Great, great to be here.
00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:10.639
Looking forward to the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey says.
00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:14.159
I remember the story it is.
00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:16.879
You know, this generation's gonna be like, what is he talking about?
00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:18.080
It was Paul Harvey.
00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:20.000
Who's Paul Harvey?
00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:22.560
Uh I remember I remember that.
00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:27.759
Do you remember there was a um there was a Super Bowl commercial that had Paul Harvey in it?
00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:28.719
Do you remember this?
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:29.280
Oh.
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:37.599
It's a it is, and the it's about uh oh, it's a he taught he's talking about farmers and about the farmer.
00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:39.439
Yeah, yeah, the farmer.
00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.599
Yeah, he's talking about that, and it's so good.
00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:53.439
And I think they put it in like a truck commercial or something, but uh anyway, it's he came on, and I remember the reason I remember that is because I was at a Super Bowl party and that came on, and people were like, Oh, this is a good commercial.
00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:55.599
And I'm like, that's it's Paul Harvey, he's great.
00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:56.319
And they were like, who?
00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:57.919
I don't know who you're talking about.
00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:59.599
It was Paul Harvey.
00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:03.039
Oh, but I remember my dad used to used to listen.
00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:07.680
So um this is a fantastic episode, Donnie.
00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:08.879
I'm not gonna waste any more time.
00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:11.360
Let's let's run right back into the scripture here.
00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:12.879
Okay, that sounds great.
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:19.120
So we're gonna pick up in uh Ruth chapter three, Ruth at the Threshing Floor.
00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:28.479
One day Naomi said to Ruth, My daughter, it's time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you'll be provided for.
00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:36.960
Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he's been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women.
00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:41.759
Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor.
00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:43.680
Now do as I tell you.
00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:48.960
Take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes.
00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:56.400
Then go to the threshing floor, but don't let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking.
00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:59.360
Be sure to notice where he lies down.
00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:04.800
Then go over and uncover his feet and lie down there.
00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.520
He will tell you what to do.
00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.080
I will do everything you say, Ruth replied.
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:19.680
So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother in law.
00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:30.240
After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep.
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:35.759
Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:40.480
Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over.
00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:44.480
He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet.
00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:45.680
Who are you?
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:47.199
he asked.
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.920
I am your servant Ruth, she replied.
00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:58.160
Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.
00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:13.279
The Lord blesses you, my daughter, Boaz exclaimed, You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor.
00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:25.040
Now don't worry about a thing, my daughter, I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman.
00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:33.759
But while it's true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am.
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:38.480
Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him.
00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:44.240
If he is willing to redeem you, very well, let him marry you.
00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:52.480
But if he's not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself.
00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.439
Now lie down here until morning.
00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:10.800
So Ruth lay at Boaz's feet until morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other, for Boaz had said, No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.
00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:15.680
Then Boaz said to her, Bring your cloak and spread it out.
00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:21.279
He measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back.
00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.439
Then he returned to town.
00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:30.480
When Ruth went back to her mother in law, Naomi asked, What happened, my daughter?
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:42.480
Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, and she added, He gave me the six scoops of barley and said, Don't go back to your mother in law empty handed.
00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:49.279
Then Naomi said to her, Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens.
00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:53.600
The man won't rest until he has settled things today.
00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:59.279
Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there.
00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:03.360
Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by.
00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:09.120
So Bo Boaz called out to him, Come over here and sit down, friend.
00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:10.959
I want to talk to you.
00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:13.120
So they sat down together.
00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:18.959
Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses.
00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:26.399
And Boaz said to the family redeemer, You know Naomi, who came back from Moab.
00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:30.959
She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:37.199
I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish.
00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:51.120
If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses, but if you don't want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.
00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:55.360
The man replied, All right, I'll redeem it.
00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:05.360
Then Boaz told him, Of course your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow.
00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:12.959
That way she can have children who will carry on her husband's name and keep the land in the family.
00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:20.319
Then I can't redeem it, the family redeemer replied, because this might endanger my own estate.
00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:24.000
You redeem the land, I cannot do it.
00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:34.799
Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party.
00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:45.440
This publicly validated the transaction, so the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, you buy the land.
00:08:45.919 --> 00:09:07.600
Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, you are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Killian, and Malon, and with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Milan to be my wife.
00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:18.639
This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown.
00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:21.519
You are all witnesses today.
00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:27.200
Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, We are witnesses.
00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:37.600
May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended.
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:53.120
May you prosper in Ephertithe and be famous in Bethlehem, and may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.
00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:58.320
So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife.
00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:05.360
When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.
00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:13.679
Then the women of the town said to Naomi, Praise the Lord who has now provided a redeemer for your family.
00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:16.879
May this child be famous in Israel.
00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:29.919
May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age, for he is a son of your daughter in law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons.
00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:37.600
Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast, and she cared for him as if he were her own.
00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:45.120
The neighbor women said, Now at last Naomi has a son again, and they named him Obed.
00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:50.639
He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of King David.
00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:55.120
This is a genealogical record of the ancestor Perez.
00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.759
Perez was the father of Hezron.
00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:00.559
Hezron was a father of Ram.
00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:04.000
Ram was a father of Amenedad.
00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:06.720
Amenedad was a father of Neshon.
00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:09.519
Nashon was a father of Salmon.
00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:12.240
Salmon was a father of Boaz.
00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:15.519
Boaz was a father of Obed.
00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:17.759
Obed was a father of Jesse.
00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:22.000
And Jesse was a father of King David.
00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:23.759
Hmm.
00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:25.360
So good.
00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:26.960
What a story.
00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.200
What a story.
00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:32.000
Only God could do that.
00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:39.200
Yeah, this one has a great the the ending is is so good with the genealogical record.
00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:43.840
I I just it ties it all together and you're like, wow, that's just incredible.
00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:46.559
And you know, it talked about Tamar and Judah again.
00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:48.879
Remember, they're the first ones we studied, remember?
00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:53.840
When we went back to the women of the you know, you couldn't you couldn't make it up.
00:11:53.919 --> 00:12:11.519
I mean, God, God, God placed that lineage of Jesus where he placed it in Matthew, for all of us who want to read and study the Bible to give us some insight into the where our where our faith comes from, exactly like you said, Chad.
00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:16.240
Where our faith comes from is a you know, is is a history of our faith.
00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.000
And the history of our of our lives is very important.
00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:24.240
I mean, you know, it's important for us today, it's important for our faith.
00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:32.879
And, you know, like we talked about last time, like you know, Mark was saying, and Chad expanded upon, you know, we live in a puzzle.
00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:37.200
We we we see through a glass dimly lit, like Paul wrote about.
00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:42.480
You know, we we well the the puzzle is being uh the master puzzle maker.
00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:45.759
You know, he is he's putting the pieces where they need to be.
00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:47.759
We can't see it all the time.
00:12:48.720 --> 00:13:08.240
But you know, Mark, that that's faith, like you've talked about so many times, you know, and and and you know, I I you know I'm really interested to hear what you have to say about the second part of of you know our study of Ruth and um what you've learned and and uh thought about over these past few days.
00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:10.480
You know, God's at work.
00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:10.960
Absolutely.
00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:15.759
In the hardest moments of life, um the gospel's woven.
00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:37.840
Um I personally feel like in in hearing chapter three and four, that you've got some really devout people in this story, and this throughout the whole chapter, but the second, third, and fourth chapter.
00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:40.399
Naomi's a good good woman.
00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:47.120
She's a good she's a good uh to Ruth, her daughter-in-law.
00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:54.320
And then, you know, she married to a relative of Boaz, right?
00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:56.480
She was married to a relative of Boaz.
00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:02.320
And Ruth is a is a good woman.
00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:23.120
And when Naomi gives Ruth instructions to go to the grain floor where Boaz is gonna be, and and and tells her, you know, what to do, and you know, put some nice clothes on, get a bathed, put on some perfume.
00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:28.240
Um Ruth follows her instructions exactly.
00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:31.360
No question whatsoever.
00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:43.840
And I think you know, it says there that you know he recognized her as being a virtuous woman.
00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:52.320
He he knew the family background, he knew the family history, he knew where she came from.
00:14:52.720 --> 00:15:00.639
And um, you know God's hand was was like you said in this whole decision.
00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:20.960
It's but it's it's it's it's always whether it's a movie or a book or a or a or a story in the Bible that we're looking at or or reading is to hope that the outcome is gonna be a good one.
00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:31.200
And then when it it does happen and you can kind of breathe a sigh of relief and go, okay, I'm glad that all worked out.
00:15:31.519 --> 00:16:02.000
But then to go back, like you said, you both of you guys have said, and and from the beginning even, and read it again and read it again, and see how the pieces of the puzzle are being put together by God to ultimately, I mean, what's the I mean, what's the I mean so they have a son, Obed, and Naomi's now a grandmother, which has got to be uplifting to her as well.
00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:26.080
And I'm sure, you know, when when Ruth married Boaz, that Naomi was kind of brought into the the loop of of wealth and and comfort, and and uh but then for later for for him to be the father of Jesse and then later the grandfather of King David.
00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:34.879
I mean that's and and that's a whole new beginning, right?
00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:49.440
A whole nother new beginning, a whole nother story, and uh so it's like I can't wait to read more and learn more and understand more and and see where all this all this goes.
00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:52.159
Yeah, I love that.
00:16:52.320 --> 00:17:20.960
I think that you mentioned you started off mentioning the situation with the the threshing floor, and I feel like in this story, especially when I first read it, um, it's probably one of the more misunderstood moments or or wondering what what really is going on here in this whole story, because people read this and uh especially today, if somebody's reading it for the first time, they immediately think, okay, this is weird, what's happening here?
00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:32.640
But if you really understand the culture and what uh she's asking her to do, it's not a scandal, it's really beautiful, and it speaks to Boaz's character too.
00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:40.559
It's not Ruth trying to seduce Boaz, it is Ruth essentially saying, Will you cover me?
00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:42.079
Will you redeem me?
00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:45.200
Will you take responsibility for me?
00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:58.000
And she is putting herself in this vulnerable uh position, and she is fully, fully trusting Boaz's character.
00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:04.480
And what I love is last episode we talked about, uh, we talked about Boaz and his character.
00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:11.119
And when you look at Boaz's response in this, he handles the moment perfectly.
00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:15.599
He handles the moment with honor, with integrity, with righteousness.
00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:34.559
He doesn't exploit the situation, he doesn't take advantage of her vulnerability, he protects her reputation, he does things the right way, and this really drives it home to me how incredible of a guy Boaz is and how much character he really does have.
00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:43.920
I think there's also in this specific session uh section um a practical lesson for today.
00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:57.440
I think if you if you look at maybe ask how different how different would relationships look nowadays if people operated with this kind of character and honor.
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:12.079
And you have two people here, one of the person is persons is very vulnerable, but they're a hundred percent committed to being vulnerable because they one hundred percent trust the other person's character.
00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:14.160
And I think that's lost nowadays.
00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:23.920
Even you know, even with me, I mean, when I go out, it takes me a while to fully trust somebody and to really trust that they have good character.
00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:26.960
Even when you when you know someone a little bit, that's hard.
00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:38.240
But this kind of relationship is is a biblical kind of relationship, and um commitment matters, character matters, integrity matters.
00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:45.200
Um and nowadays I feel like people a lot of times are asking, what can I get out of it?
00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:47.359
Um, what's in this for me?
00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:50.720
But in this, we see that picture that that's not even a thought.
00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:52.799
It's what can I do for her?
00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:54.079
How can I protect her?
00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:55.920
How can I honor her?
00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:57.440
And it's just beautiful.
00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:01.599
It's a beautiful situation when you fully understand what's going on there.
00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:12.480
You know, and and uh to the to that point, you know, you know, in that culture, you know, Boaz, he obviously loves Ruth.
00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:14.079
Okay, you know, he loves Ruth.
00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:20.480
I mean, he you know, he he you know, he's protected her, he's watched her, she's you know, become a part of his life.
00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:28.400
You know, he you know, he uh you know he refers to her as my daughter, you know, Naomi refers to her over and over as my daughter.
00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:30.480
You know, they love Ruth.
00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:34.720
Okay, they love Ruth in large part because of her character.
00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:38.160
I mean, what what a lesson for all of us.
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:40.480
How can you not love Ruth?
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.640
I mean, Ruth is you know, her character is just incredible.
00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:54.559
And when Boaz says, you know, there's another one, another relative closer than me, you know, I've got to go talk to him about this.
00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:55.039
Yeah.
00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:59.279
You know, we're not gonna, we're not gonna just rush into something.
00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.480
You know, you're a virtuous woman.
00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.680
You know, we're gonna do this thing the right way.
00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:12.000
You know, he he he goes in front of the the leaders of his community.
00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:14.640
He he he's a leader in the community.
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:17.920
Boaz, he, you know, he's doing his thing the right way.
00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:25.599
He doesn't want to have any issues, he doesn't want to create any problem for Ruth because he cares about Ruth, right?
00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:27.839
And he and he is a man of character.
00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:28.960
Like you're saying, Chad.
00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:30.319
How big a deal is that?
00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:58.640
I mean, you know, and and and how what an example it is for us, you know, and uh, you know, as uh a person who's you know really in tuned and you know up on what's going on in social media and the and the pulse that these young people today especially are facing, what an example, you know, but as in Ruth's story, and they owe me uh to how how to handle situations in life.
00:21:59.279 --> 00:21:59.519
Sure.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.720
Could have shortcut.
00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.039
Yeah, he could have easily took shortcuts.
00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:07.680
But you know, character is who you are when I guess shortcuts are available.
00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:09.359
You choose to do the right thing.
00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:12.319
Something else that I picked up on.
00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:26.400
So when they went before all the other townsmen to consummate this transaction, I didn't totally realize that Naomi owned this land.
00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.359
So that was that was her husband's land.
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:46.319
Um which there again that played right into the you know why they were there was to to negotiate the the transaction.
00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:49.519
And you know, think about it.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:23:03.759
Had Ruth not left and gone back with with Naomi from the very beginning and left like the other daughter-in-law did, and left Naomi on her own to go back to Bethlehem.
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:19.920
I mean, just piece of the pieces of pieces and pieces and pieces and faith and faith and redemption and it's just all tied into God's plan.
00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:22.799
You know, another thing.
00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:24.000
I'm sorry, go ahead.
00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:27.119
You know, another thing that I've I've thought about.
00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:38.720
Here again, Chad, you know, I'm real interested in, you know, what you have to think about this because uh Mark and I have grown children and we grandchildren.
00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:47.920
I mean, you know, so we're we're sort of at a different stage than in life, you know, than than you are, because you know, you have younger sons and a younger family.
00:23:48.079 --> 00:24:02.000
And you know, one thing that really jumps out to me in this story, and I I'd like to talk about this a bit if y'all, if y'all want, is that when Ruth tells Naomi, my daughter, right?
00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:03.839
He she refers to her as my daughter.
00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:07.039
You know, Naomi loves Ruth, okay?
00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:08.480
There ain't no question about it.
00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:11.519
They have a deep affection for one another.
00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:23.519
And when Ruth needs guidance, she does not question Naomi because she knows that Naomi loves her, right?
00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:31.279
And I think so many times today in the world we live in, when you know, when Mark and I were younger, you know, Google weren't around.
00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:37.519
I mean, you know, we didn't really have that way, that wasn't a resource for us to solve problems.
00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:41.839
We didn't go to AI for, you know, to tell us what to do and all that.
00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:51.519
We typically went to our parents, our aunts, or our uncles, or people who were a little older than us, that had experience or close friends or whatever.
00:24:51.759 --> 00:25:00.400
You know, and we we made decisions based on on the information from coming from people who who we knew loved us and cared about us, right?
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:23.279
And I think today is such a real dilemma is how I would describe it for younger people who are influenced by people who they don't really know, who don't really maybe have their best interest at heart, they don't really have all the information to help them make a good decision, and that a lot is lost there.
00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:32.559
I I think that the the the example of the closeness of Naomi and Ruth, you know, is is a big, big deal.
00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:52.400
And I I I just kind of thinking out loud, and you tell me what you think, Chad, but I I think that's something that's really sadly not uh taken advantage of enough in our society today is the wise counsel of people who love us instead of something on social media or Google or whatever.
00:25:52.559 --> 00:26:09.920
What do you think about that, Chad, as far as it's it, you know, that closeness in this story to me, you know, the closest of Naomi and you know, and Ruth and Ruth and Boaz, but when that, you know, when when it says she doesn't question what she tells her.
00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:11.519
She knows she loves her.
00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:16.880
She followed her lead, and it led her to be redeemed.
00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:19.039
How do you think that?
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.119
I don't know.
00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:23.119
I just wish we saw more of that today.
00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:24.079
What do you think about that?
00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:27.839
I think that's a uh what you just said, I think, is a big lesson here.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:36.720
Uh you know, when I was when I was uh young, my parents got divorced when I was about seven years old.
00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:40.880
Um I really didn't have uh a father figure.
00:26:41.119 --> 00:27:03.680
I definitely didn't have a uh a godly father figure in my life, and it wasn't until I was about uh 11 or 12, of course, me and my mom were pretty close, but I didn't really have someone since I'm a male that I felt was on that same level with me, and I could ask those types of questions and talk about all sorts of things with.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:22.319
And as I when I when I became, I think it was about 12 years old, the principal at the school, I'm very thankful my mom put me in a Christian school, and um the principal at that school became that figure for me.
00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:37.599
And I can look back and see that you just talked about uh with Ruth, how she ended up was mostly because she completely trusted Naomi enough to listen and do those things.
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:41.680
So I think the big lesson is that I can look back on my life too.
00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:52.720
Your your life and ultimately your circumstances and where you end up and your decisions, all of that in the end is not all you.
00:27:53.119 --> 00:28:00.319
It's for sure, it's a lot of your stuff and your decision in your mind, but a lot of it is those influences that we have.
00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.759
And I can look back, and my principal, his name was Mr.
00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:08.079
Wall, and he had a huge influence in my life.
00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:14.160
And a lot of the decisions that I made were because I would go and say, Hey, Mr.
00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:15.440
Wall, I need to talk to you.
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:23.119
And we'd have a conversation, and that would heavily influence what I did in that decision multiple, multiple, multiple times.
00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:29.200
So I can look back and say, if it wasn't for God, if it wasn't for my mom, but also if it wasn't for Mr.
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:40.720
Wall, who in my mind was that person that I could 100% trust and count on and listen to and know that he had my best interest, like you said, Donnie, at heart.
00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:43.200
So it affected my, it affected everything.
00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:48.079
It affected my life, my decisions, um how things turned out.
00:28:48.319 --> 00:29:02.559
Even nowadays, I can look back um and think of times when I didn't have him, but I would recount conversations I had when I did know him and use those conversations and make a decision now.
00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:18.640
So I think that the one of the biggest keys of uh today, how people make horrible decisions and uh do things they shouldn't and end up places they don't want to be is because they don't have that godly counsel.
00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:39.359
And I hope the listeners will take that into account and say, man, if I don't have somebody like that in my life, you can you can find somebody like that, you can pray for somebody like that, you can go and join a church body and and have someone like that in your life if it's not your pastor, somebody, a leader in the church, a teacher.
00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:41.359
It's so, so important.
00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:42.559
Like you said, Donnie.
00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:48.400
And a lot of kids now, you know, growing up in a single parent home, they don't have a even a parent figure.
00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.160
So it's even more so important.
00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:57.519
So I think that goes a lot towards how how things are nowadays and how they've gotten worse over time.
00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:00.640
Um, people just not having that in their life.
00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:08.000
Well, let me let me ask you this, you know, kind of we we touched on this a little bit, you know, in the previous exp episode.
00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:12.799
It's I well, I mean, this is just my thought about it.
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:18.799
I don't believe anything that happens on a wide scale worldwide is coincidence, right?
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:28.480
God is at work in the world, and there's a you know, the the king is on the throne, he's at work, and there's an enemy in this world, and he's he's he's he's working too.
00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:39.440
And it's not by chance, at least in my view, I'm curious to see what you guys have to say, that Christian masculinity is under attack.
00:30:39.680 --> 00:31:06.400
You know, that that we as Christian men are being barraged with every kind of image and anything and everything you can think of to tell us that we you know we shouldn't be, we shouldn't be taking charge, we shouldn't be stepping forward, we should cower down to whoever or whatever, you know, that that we should go along to get along, you know, in this world that we're living in.
00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:17.839
And like Boaz in this story, you know, we all have an opportunity as men, you know, Christian men as followers of Christ, to step up and be kind to people, right?
00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:27.759
To to take an interest in these young people that we pass by, whether you know we're related to them or not, you know, but particularly to our family and stuff.
00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:43.599
And when I read this, and you know, all the emphasis on family and the way Boaz just steps into this situation, I don't think it's by chance that they call him the family redeemer, because he's he's like a picture of our Redeemer, right?
00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:51.680
Who steps up and you know, and he you know, he did what was necessary to save us, right?
00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:54.079
He did what was necessary to save us.
00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:56.559
Boaz saves Ruth and Naomi.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.599
He absolutely saved them.
00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:07.200
They are doomed without a godly man stepping forward and doing the right thing.
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:17.119
And and what a, you know, what an opportunity for us to step up and do that for people around us, you know, and it doesn't take a lot.
00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.519
Sometimes just a hey, how you doing?
00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:21.279
I've been thinking about you.
00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:22.720
How's everything going?
00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:30.480
You know, that goes a long, long way, particularly when a person is struggling the way Ruth was and the way Naomi was in his story.
00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:34.240
And I'm just curious, I want to be more like Boaz.
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:40.160
I'm not saying I'm like him, you know, I mean, but it's something to aspire to after reading the story.
00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:41.200
What do y'all think about that?
00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:51.039
Well, I don't know about the fact that you know, and the fact that his character was as such, you know, obviously someone had an influence on him.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:55.599
True at some point in time and his wife with his upbringing.
00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:56.240
Yeah.
00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:13.039
Um but going back to what you guys were talking about the youth and connecting with the youth and them having a a role model, a godly role model, male or female, but let's just say either.
00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:13.759
Right.
00:33:14.400 --> 00:33:32.640
There's so many youth organizations, I think, that are out there that young people can can be involved in, starting with the church, starting with you know, the fellowship uh organizations, youth organizations at church.
00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:44.960
And then you could go from there to as you get a little older, you know, we've talked about if you're an athlete and you've got the fellowship of Christian athletes, FCA.
00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:48.640
You've got the Boys and Girls Club of America.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:55.920
Uh my wife has has worked with them, and she currently works um at a at a Christian school.
00:33:56.079 --> 00:34:01.119
Chad, you mentioned you know, your your family had you involved in a Christian school.
00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:06.400
All those are pieces of puzzle again.
00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:30.639
I feel like that help put a child's mind and mindset in a position to be able to have a chance, have an understanding, and and be able to say say no to peers that are wanting them to go in a different direction.
00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:40.880
And and I mean I don't think you're I don't think you're ever you're never too young to to read the Bible or understand the Bible, whether you're not able to read it.
00:34:41.280 --> 00:35:08.159
It can be read to you, and then there's there's Bible on tape, there's books on tape, there's there's just a lot of positive resources out there that are available that that that parents I think can can guide their children towards and in those directions uh if if if that if if they need that help, if they need that that understanding.
00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:18.559
Yeah, I think it's really important for them to get uh plugged in, like you said, Mark, and I'm glad you brought that up.
00:35:18.719 --> 00:35:41.280
I I was thinking about the my story and um my history with that, and I I if I wouldn't have had at the moment that I did my principals step in, I I would have needed to find something, and that is a great resource, uh great resource, these groups.
00:35:41.519 --> 00:36:02.880
Um we have I mean we have a lot of people at our church that are involved in several of those, and I think that can be absolutely be the difference between someone going the right way and someone going the wrong way is getting plugged in to people who are gonna encourage them and godly counsel.
00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:16.159
And I think that the more and more we go along into the future, we're gonna see, you know, Satan wants to disarm the army of God.
00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:17.360
He wants to disarm us.
00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:44.239
And one of the ways he disarms us is he distracts the leaders and he distracts the men and distracts the women who are leading and trying to change children's lives because he knows if you can distract the leaders and you can get rid of some of these groups, uh the children are gonna grow up and they're gonna go the wrong way, and that's what he wants.
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:53.760
So I think we're gonna see more and more of those types of clubs and groups and organizations and associations become under attack.
00:36:53.920 --> 00:37:05.119
And I think that's one of the biggest reasons that it's so it's so str it's so powerful to keep the scripture fresh and to read it every day and to stay close to God.
00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:21.440
And even even a podcast like this, and this is not me shouting out for us, but even something like this that you listen to and you can get in your mind and get in your head, and every day listen where you're getting the word in, into your heart.
00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:28.400
Uh, the Bible talks about getting the word into your heart because once it's in your heart, it becomes a part of you.
00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:33.519
And you get in a situation, you try to make a decision and you don't know which way to go.
00:37:33.679 --> 00:37:35.360
Oh, I remember that scripture.
00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:43.679
Psalm 34, I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth, my soul shall make her boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:45.599
Uh, oh, magnify the Lord with me.
00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:46.960
Let us exalt his name together.
00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:52.239
Those scriptures, those are scriptures I memorized when I was young, when I was a child.
00:37:52.320 --> 00:38:10.000
And if we can get those scriptures, and if we as leaders and parents and men and women and people in the organizations, I hope some of you are listening to me, if you can get that scripture and the living word of God inside these young minds, you you literally mold them from the inside out, and that becomes part of their life.
00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:11.760
So I'm glad you brought up those groups, Mark.
00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:20.559
I think it's it's a good challenge for us to guard our hearts and even become involved in whatever we can.
00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:26.960
I think Donnie, you said you're involved in the uh Christian, what is it, what it Christian athletes?
00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:30.400
Uh well, we do, yeah, some different things like that.
00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:35.039
That uh, you know, I've been involved in athletics all my life, you know.
00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:39.679
So for me, that's a that's a you know, that's a natural mission field, right?
00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:41.679
You know, so everybody's got something.
00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:57.119
I mean, we all have interest, you know, and opportunities to um interact with people, and what a blessing, you know, to be able to, you know, for for me and I think for most people, uh, you know, I need to feel needed.
00:38:57.440 --> 00:38:58.800
I need to feel needed.
00:38:59.119 --> 00:39:02.159
Boaz was needed in this situation.
00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:04.320
You know, it's interesting if you think about it.
00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:07.119
Ruth was needed by Naomi.
00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:14.320
Naomi was needed by Ruth, and and they all needed Boaz, and Boaz really needed them.
00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:19.199
I mean, you know, to be able to redeem and to do, to shine, right?
00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:20.719
For his light to shine.
00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:40.320
But if they're not connected in any way, or they're not, you know, they're not uh doing things that involve them and other people, and if they don't each step forward when the opportunity came along, they each step forward for when someone was in need, and they helped meet that need.
00:39:40.480 --> 00:39:45.199
And God used that whole thing to place them in a lineage of Jesus.
00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:47.039
Now you couldn't make that up.
00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:57.519
I mean, that's just not by chance, you know, and so we may think our life is all out of place, you know, like we talked about earlier, you know, that the the example of a puzzle.
00:39:57.679 --> 00:40:00.079
We don't know where we are in the puzzle.
00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:02.880
But that puzzle's gonna come together.
00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:05.360
It's gonna come together, you know.
00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:09.760
And and we just gotta hang in there and and do what we can when we can.
00:40:09.840 --> 00:40:13.599
And I I just felt like the story of Ruth and Boaz and Naomi.
00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:17.920
What a beautiful story of how God is at work.
00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:21.360
And then he tied Tamar and Judah into it too.
00:40:22.159 --> 00:40:27.599
You know, when I read that earlier, I thought, my gosh, man, they got them in there too.
00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:29.920
And we just read about them a couple of weeks ago.
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:31.840
I mean, you know, it's just really remarkable.
00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:34.239
I think God is good all the time.
00:40:34.800 --> 00:40:44.960
He is all the time, and there's opportunities for us to connect other people and to and to seek godly counsel as a younger person if you'll take advantage of it.
00:40:45.199 --> 00:40:45.599
Yeah.
00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:53.199
I like the one thing about the puzzle, and it just hit me because we're talking about genealogy and the lineage of Jesus.
00:40:53.440 --> 00:41:04.079
That puzzle, like when I was when we were talking about it earlier, Mark, you're talking about the puzzle, I'm thinking the puzzle is our life, but the puzzle really is all it overlaps generations.
00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:15.679
Your puzzle, what you do right here, your puzzle is going to continue to grow and continue to grow and continue to grow, and that is going to affect someone or many people down the road.
00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:22.079
That's really cool watching what God does throughout generations and how these these things are all so interconnected.
00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:23.840
Uh he's his plan.
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:24.880
Yeah.
00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:29.199
Do y'all have anything else to add?
00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:33.280
I think it's a beautiful story.
00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:35.280
What a blessing to read it.
00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:37.920
Alright, I'm gonna close us out here.
00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:41.039
Uh actually, Donnie, you go ahead.
00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:42.719
I'll edit this little blip out here.
00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:45.679
Donnie, go ahead uh if you want to close us in prayer.
00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:46.320
Okay.
00:41:46.960 --> 00:41:54.079
Dear Lord, we thank you so much for this day that you created and this world that we live in and that we're a part of.
00:41:54.239 --> 00:42:00.719
And Lord, help us to view our lives as part of an amazing puzzle that you're putting together.
00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:05.679
And we may not always know where the pieces go, but we know that you do.
00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:20.719
And I pray that you're gonna be with us and for all the people that are listening or watching, and that they would desire to grow to read your word and grow in their faith and come to love and know Jesus Christ in an intimate and personal way.
00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:23.280
And we ask these things in Jesus' name.
00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:24.000
Amen.
00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:25.440
Amen.
00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:34.239
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