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stand in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. So we've been going through the book of Ruth as we've been taking kind of a detour from the book of Ezra. And I love chapter number three. It's a really interesting chapter. A lot of cool stuff is in this chapter. But in the last chapter, we had seen that we'd finished off with barley harvest, okay, we'd finished off with the harvest time. We have Ruth, she was always going to the field of Boaz and she was reaping and harvest is ended basically. And after harvest, then they're going to thresh that wheat, and they're going to winnow the wheat and they're going to gather the grain from all that they've gathered in and all that they've they brought in. It says in verse number one, it says then Naomi, her mother in law said under my daughter, shall I not seek rest for the that it may be well with me. And you have to say what is this? What is this that Naomi's basically stating to Ruth? Why is she saying rest? What does she mean by rest here? Well, from the context of the chapter, we know for certain, but she's talking about marriage, she's talking about her finding someone to take care of her. She's the one going out and get doing the physical labor. She's the one going out and getting a job. She's the one going out and providing, which is the job of a man which is the job of a husband. Because she doesn't have that because she's in a bad situation. She has to go and provide for herself. She has to go and provide for herself. She has to provide for her mother in law. And so her finding a husband finding some man to take care of her would be considered rest would be considered her taking it easy. Go if you would to First Timothy chapter number five. And this chapter is continually dealing with the topic of marriage. And so I want to before we kind of get deep into this chapter, I want to kind of lay out a few different things the Bible talks about when we think about marriage. That way, we know where we're going. But in First Timothy chapter number five, the Bible talks about people, you know, providing and it's important that we understand that it's a man's job to provide. The Bible makes it crystal clear that a husband is supposed to be the breadwinner. The husband is the one that's supposed to go out and work hard. He's supposed to be the main provider so that the wife so that the woman can stay home, she can guide the house, she can take care of the children, she can do all the things that she's been designed by God to do. Women have been designed by God to bear children. Men can't do it. You know, with this transgender nonsense, you constantly see things that are like, you know, he gave birth to so and so and you're like, what are you talking about? Because they always change all these pronouns and they saw this nonsense and all this ridiculous stuff. Look, a man can't bear a child. Don't you think that if a man can't do it, then it seems like it'd be logical to say it's woman's job. If women don't give birth, there will be no more children. So it's just a God, you know, ordained. Obviously, it's a very clear thing that we have women who bear children. Well, if the women are constantly bearing children, you know what they're not going to be able to do? Go out and work. Because it's difficult, you know, being pregnant, giving birth, recovering, breastfeeding, doing all these things requires a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of energy, she doesn't have all this time to go out and work hard and labor. And in fact, whenever you're pregnant, you're supposed to take it easy. You're not supposed to do heavy lifting, you're not supposed to go out and work a manual labor job. So it's important to have the man fulfilled in his role so that the woman can do her role. Oftentimes, we have a lot of people today in America, where the husband's not willing to provide for the family. So then the wife has to go get a job, she has to go and put children on the backburner, she has to put being in the home on the backburner, she has to go get, you know, put the kids in the nursery or do whatever. This is backwards, according to the Bible, look at verse two, chapter five, verse seven. And these things given charge that they may be blameless, but if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. So a man that's not willing to provide for his family is likened unto an infidel. Now, I can't think of a worst insult. I can't think of something more extreme for God to say, when God says that a man that will not provide for his family is like an unbeliever, is like an infidel. It's wicked. It's ungodly. Men ought to go and out and provide. They ought to be the breadwinners. They ought to be ones taking care of their family. And look, if you want your wife to submit to you, you have to be the breadwinner. I mean, look, what kind of nonsense is it to be like, hey, you need to submit to me. And she's like, well, I'm bringing on the bacon, you know, that's going to be an awkward situation. Because naturally, he that has the gold makes the rules. That's not Bible, but that's just what, you know, basically we all understand. And it's human nature that if you're the one going out and working hard and bring in the bacon that you want to kind of have some control and authority over that. Well, men, if you want to be that breadwinner, you know, if you want to have the rules, then you got to be the breadwinner. Look at first Corinthians, chapter number seven. Now, first Corinthians, chapter number seven. Why did I say that? Well, here's the thing. Naomi is the one going out being the breadwinner, isn't she? She's the one going out and getting the barley and threshing it. And she's the one that's beating out the ethos. And you know, she's getting out all of the food, she's bringing it home. And it's not the natural order of things. It's not what God desires for people. Now, obviously, from Ruth's example, we can prove that a woman going out and working is not a sin. Was it a sin for Ruth to go out and have a job? No. And look, there's plenty of women that sometimes they find themselves in a bad situation. Maybe their husband, you know, divorces them and stranded, or maybe their husband dies, or maybe they end up getting knocked up, you know, which is a sin, obviously, and the guy's a deadbeat and just is out of the picture. Well, at that point, I mean, you got to provide, you got to figure out something to do. And it's not a good situation. It's not what God designed. It's not what God truly wants. But here's the thing. Is it really a sin? Would you say it's a sin for Ruth to be going out and working hard? No. So obviously, we see this exception in the fact that a woman going out and getting a job should be the exception, not the rule, right? Is there anything wrong with a woman having a job? No. You know what, I don't want my wife to ever have a job so that she can be continually busy doing the things that God has designed her to do. Look at First Corinthians, chapter number seven, verse one. Now concerning the things where have you wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. It's also God's desire for men and women to get married and to have children. Okay. One of the main reasons for this is to avoid fornication. If you don't get married, a lot more fornication is going to happen in this world. What is the result of fornication? The absence of marriage. And if you even look at marriage rates today, they're declining. If you're looking at the age at which people get married, it's a lot older. You know that causes a lot more fornication. If you look at times past people are getting married at 18, 19, 20, 21, they're getting married young. And that's going to help people abstain from this rampant fornication lifestyle that we live in today. Whereas most people when they turn 18, you know, they get married to the college, they get married to some university somewhere. And then what do they do? They commit fornication till they're 18 and 19 and 20 and 21 and 22. Why? Because they're not married. And if you don't get married, you know what that temptation is strong. That temptation is real. And when parents just decide to put their kids in some distant college somewhere, put them around the opposite gender with no rules with no chaperone. It's rampant fornication. And if you're a young single person, you need to have a lot of boundaries in your life. You need to protect yourself because it's a real threat. It's a real challenge. And the way that you truly avoid fornication is marriage. Notice he doesn't say like, there's really no other option. If you're a young single person, and you're interested in the opposite gender, your only cure is to get married. I mean, it's just too much of a challenge. It's too much of a struggle. And while you're if you're in that situation, you need to put some strong boundaries in place. It doesn't matter how godly you are. It doesn't matter how much you love the Lord, how much you read the Bible, if you put yourself in a bad situation, you will fall. And so you have to realize that and you have to guard yourself and protect yourself and not put yourself in these situations. So how is Ruth gonna avoid fornication? She needs to get married. I mean, that's just the reality. She was already a widow. So we already know that she desired marriage. She desired a husband, her husband was taken from her. And the Bible makes it clear that you know, the younger women need to marry. It says in verse 27, skip down. It says art thou bound into a wife seek not to be loose, art thou loose from a wife seek not a wife. Now we have to get the context of verse Corinthians chapter seven. First Corinthians chapter seven is a mixture of commandments from God and then the Apostle Paul's personal opinion. Now the Apostle Paul is going to be a somewhat biased because at least at this point, he's not married. He's never been married. He doesn't really know what marriage is like. And he's just given his own personal opinion by stating, Well, from my perspective, I don't really see the benefit of getting married. Because technically speaking, if we read a little bit further, he's gonna say, you know, those that have been married, after we're all dead in heaven, you won't even remember you were married. It's kind of vanity to some degree. It says in verse 28, button if thou marry thou is not sinned, and if a virgin marries you have not sinned, nevertheless, such will have trouble in the flesh, but I spare you. So notice, he kind of even has a negative view. He's like, Hey, it's kind of a trouble here. Okay. He says in verse 29. But this I say, brethren, the time is short, it remaineth that both they that have wise be as though they had none. And they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoice not, and they that by as though they possess not, and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world pass of the way. So he's saying, at the end of the day, most of the decisions you make in your life or vanity, even marriage, even marriage at the end of the day, you're not going to get a special crown in heaven because you're married. You're not gonna need a special crown in heaven because you're not married. It really doesn't have any eternal impact directly. Now, obviously, being married is going to have an impact on your life. It's going to be a very important thing. And when you read First Corinthians chapter number seven, it makes it very abundantly clear that if you desire to be married, you need to get married. And God designed marriage. If we look at what God actually said, it's not good for the man to be alone. God created him to help me on purpose. There's only a few, you know, rare exceptions of people that are going to be an apostle Paul that are going to have this type of a lifestyle. And we don't want to take First Corinthians seven and run with it and almost demonize marriage. Now, some of the things he says, some people would try to take and try to demonize marriage. Didn't he say there was gonna be trouble in the flesh? Now, let me tell you what that means. That means that marriage is gonna be hard. Marriage is difficult. Let me tell you something else is really difficult. Children. Children is very difficult. Let me tell you something else that's really difficult. Serving God. Let me tell you something else that's really difficult. Reading the entire Bible cover to cover. But here's the thing. Should I not do those things? Should I not read the Bible cover to cover? Should I not have children? Should I not get married? No, of course not. The reality is, those are some of the greatest fulfillments of my life. You say, Hey, what gives you some of the greatest joy in your life being married, having children, reading the Bible cover to cover. And hey, it's some of the hardest things that you'll ever do. Just because it's hard doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. I love it. I love being married. It's the greatest thing. I would never want to not be married. There's no point in my life I'm gonna think I don't want to be married. Okay. And I love my children. But if you're gonna ask me what is having children like it's kind of like hell because there's no rest day or night. There's weeping and gnashing of teeth. They're screaming all kinds of it's just when you have four kids, someone's always screaming, you know, I mean, look, obviously, it's not like hell, okay, but I'm just giving you an idea of reality. What's reality? Marriage is tough. Marriage is hard work. There's trouble there. There's difficulty there. And the Apostle Paul is approaching the subject by saying, Look, if you never get married, you're avoiding some trouble at the end of the day. And at the end of the day, since I don't get any special crowns in heaven for being married, well, I'd rather just serve the Lord. So it gives you some hope for people that may not get married. You know, there's some people that end up may never get married, or maybe may never find a spouse, or maybe don't have that strong desire, or just doesn't happen or whatever the case is, or they're in a bad situation, and they never end up getting married. The Bible says a lot of hope here because it's saying at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, the house that you bought doesn't matter. You won't remember the car that you had the job that you had the clothes that you wore, you know, the way you styled your hair. You know, I bleached my hair when I was you know, a teenager. It's not gonna matter. It doesn't matter. These things just don't matter. They have no importance. Go. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter one. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter one. I want to go there for a second. Okay. And I know we're taking it. We're taking a detour from Ruth. We're going to come back. I just want to establish some things in our mind before we really tackle this chapter. Okay. Give me a little bit of leeway here. But marriage is hard work. And you're going to have a lot of tough days. And I'm glad that the Bible told me that so that I don't have to hear from these liars. I remember we went to this life group. Okay. I went to this life group at this church. And we were in a young married couples class. Okay. And there's this one couple in there. And they're like, we never fight. We never argue. We're best friends. And we just come home and we just love each other. And you know, I'm just thinking like, you're a liar. Or or you just neither of you care about the marriage. Because to me, the more you fight, the more you love each other. You know, the more you kind of have some zeal, you're gonna have some friction. Look, if you don't care, you're not gonna fight. You know, it doesn't, it doesn't fight people that don't care. The French, you know, they're just apathetic. They just don't care about things. So they never really fight. They're just weak. They're just passive. Look, if you actually care about your wife, if you actually care about your marriage, there's gonna be natural friction every once in a while. And it's normal. It's normal. Don't think of your all. I just wish I was married to this other person. I wouldn't fight with them. Yes, you would. But you might fight with them more. You don't even know. We don't know. Don't look at somebody and think, Oh, I wouldn't fight with that person. You'd probably fight so much more. You don't even realize it. You need to take, you know, you need to appreciate your spouse and love them and realize you're gonna have hard days. And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. Ecclesiastes chapter one, verse two, vanity of vanity, say at the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Now, we don't want to take this to an extreme either and say, okay, marriage doesn't matter. So I might as well just go soul winning. I mean, I don't even know I need, I'm not gonna take my wife on a date. I'm just gonna go soul winning. I'm just gonna read the Bible fail. Because here's the thing, when you decide to quit on marriage, you know what most people do, they quit on Jesus too. I've seen people, usually the people that get out of church have the worst marriages. It's just a normal coordinating factor. There's something bad in their marriage, and then they quit the church, their spouses attacking them, they get out of church, the people that have the best marriages, oftentimes are the ones that are the most faithful in church. And there's a there's a reason why, okay. But you have to realize that in at the end of the day, though, you can have the best marriage in the world, and you're not going to get any special rewards in heaven. So you want to take everything with balance with the Bible. Okay, look at verse 11. There is no remembrance of former things, neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. So go back to first Corinthians seven, we're gonna we're gonna look at your verses here. Why should Ruth get married then? If it doesn't matter? Well, how did first Corinthians chapter seven start to avoid fornication? Look, I don't want to have a lot of sin in my life. You know, at the end of the day, any of the meals that I eat? Is that going to give me any rewards in heaven? No. But am I going to stop eating? Of course not. I love eating food. And in fact, I'm going to also enjoy the food that I eat too. Why not? Why would I not want to enjoy the food that I'm going to have to eat? And look, you're gonna have to go through this life for several years. I would rather do it with a companion. I'd rather do with a help me I'd rather do it with a wife. I'd rather do with someone that loves the Lord. And I can talk to her. And I can have relations with her. And I can avoid sin. And we can have a family and we can have children. Marriage is a blessing. Marriage is great. God only talks positively about marriage. Okay. The Apostle Paul, though, wants to give you some perspective. He wants to balance that view, though, and make you realize that you're not on this earth to be married. What is every secular song about? It's just about all the one, I just found my one. And I'll love you forever and ever and ever. Look, those things are gonna end. Your marriage will end at some point. And unfortunately, it could even end before you die. You have a 5050 chance if you're married. Think about that. But you know what, you're going to be in heaven with the Lord forever. So we want to make sure that we're serving God ultimately. And when you're serving God and you're loving God, you're going to love your spouse and you're gonna do right under your spouse. But what's the will of God for Ruth? It's to get married. It's for her to have another husband. Let's keep reading here. It says in verse 32, but I would have you without carefulness, he that is unmarried care for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord, but he that is married care of the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. So whenever you're married, you're going to have a temptation to think about a lot more carnal things to be wrapped up with the things of the world. Okay, look at verse 34. There is no there's difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman care for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy, both in body and spirit. But she that is married care for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. So it's, it's both, you're gonna have to work at it. If you actually have a good marriage, you have to think about the things of the world, you have to think about carnal things constantly. You have to think about the car and the house and the budget and food and just taking care of one another and all these, there's all these things you have to worry about and be concerned with. Look, if I was a young single guy, not interested in married, being married, there's a lot less things I would care about. Food and you know, where my clothes and how I look at, you know, there's so many less things I had to worry about. Okay. But at the end of the day, I don't get to reap the benefits of having a wife, I don't get to reap the benefits of having children, I don't get to reap the benefits of the companionship, and all the help me and all the other blessings that I had God for me. And I'm going to have the temptation of fornication beating me in the face every single moment. Because I'm a normal red blooded man that likes women. And if you don't like women, you should probably leave this church if you're a guy. Now, if you can contain that, okay, that's fine. You know, the Bible does talk about that. But if you have a different desire, you know, you should get out of here. I'm gonna be nice for a moment. Okay, verse 35. And this I speak for your own profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you. But for that which is comely that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction. So he's like, I'm not trying to cast a snare here. I'm not trying to confuse you. Look at verse 36. But if any man think that he behaved with himself uncommonly towards virgin, if she passed the flower age and needs to require, let him do what he will he send us not let them marry. Nevertheless, he that stand a steadfast in his heart having no necessity, but have power over his own will, and as so decreed in his heart, that he will keep his virgin do as well. So you say who should get married and who should not? The only people that should not get married are in this list. They're steadfast in their heart, they have no necessity, and they have power over their own will. Now, I'm going to just admit to you confess my fault. I'm not on that list. That's why I want to be married. Okay, and that's why most men should desire marriage, most women should try to find marriage. It says in verse number 38. So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well, but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth. But if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married, to whom she will only in the Lord. But as she but she is happier, if she so abide after my judgment, and I think also that I have the Spirit of God. So now again, First Corinthians seven is giving us the Apostle Paul's opinion. He's saying he thinks it's better. And technically speaking, from an eternal perspective, yeah, if you could serve God more with your life, that would always be better, right? But the reality is someone that desires marriage is not going to serve God better by not getting married. The only person that that applies to is the person who has no necessity. If I have no necessity, and I could keep those temptations under control, then technically speaking, maybe I should just say single and serve the Lord the best that I possibly can. I'm not that person. So I'm going to get married and then I'm going to serve the Lord the best I possibly can while being married. Okay. And Ruth, you know what God's wills for her to get married. Go if you would to first 25 go back. I'm going to prove that for a moment. But I wanted to cover these verses because we're covering this topic. Why would Ruth go and get a husband? Well, first of all, she's already showed the proof that she desires to have marriage, right? She was a widow before someone that desired marriage. It's going to give her rest. Notice what Naomi wanted her to have to be married for, to have that companion to have someone to carry the burden, have someone carry the load for someone to be there and to comfort her and to take care of her. But I also like that when we look at this chapter, it said that she had the liberty to be married to whom she will notice that marriage is not just, you know, I have to marry this person, or this part, you know, some people believe that only the dad can choose who the daughter can marry. And that's not biblical. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible does teach that a young lady that's living with her parents, that the father does kind of have a veto power, that if she was going to marry some kind of a jerk, some kind of a loser, derelict, some unsaved degenerate, that he can basically say, like, get out of here, punk. No, you're not you're not going to be with my daughter. But that's still not the daughter. It's not like the daughter doesn't have choice. It's just saying the dad has the ability to basically throw some loser out of the picture. Okay, but she's still going to pick somebody that she likes that she loves. There's some independent fundamental Baptist churches that I've been in, where they teach courtship. And they teach that the parent like basically parents find other parents that they like, and they set their kids up together, and then their kids go on chaperone dates, and they just get married. I don't believe in that. I believe that kids should have the ability to date and freely pick over they want. They have to live with that person for the rest of their life. It's death do his part. It's like, you should be wanting to marry the person, you should have made the conscious decision to marry this person. And there's times in the Bible where people are married, and maybe they didn't have a choice or it was kind of it was less of a free will decision. And if that happened to somebody or somebody was in that situation, you still have to be married to the rest of your life. You still should serve them and love them. But I'm not going to put that on my children. I'm not going to sell my children away to people. I'm not going to force them to marry somebody that they don't want to marry. They should be able to choose who they want. And even with Ruth. But it says in verse two, chapter five, verse 11, but the younger widows refuse. Now is Ruth the widow? Yeah. Is she younger? Yeah. For when they will have begun to wax wanted against Christ, they will marry having damnation because they have cast off their first faith. And with all they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not idle, but Tatler's also in busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give them occasion, the adversary speaker, virtually, for some are already turned aside after Satan. Now, let me help you out the same author of First Timothy five is the same author of First Corinthians, chapter number seven. And there's no contradictions. So some people want to take First Corinthians seven to a weird extreme. It's not de emphasizing marriage at all. In fact, the Apostle Paul makes it really clear that the young younger widows, they need to get married. Because if they don't, what's going to be the problem, they're going to end up departing from serving God, they're not going to be able to contain, they're not going to end up staying faithful. So they just need to get married. So they have someone to help them and to guide them and to lead them. That's what Ruth needs. She needs that man. Go back to Ruth. Okay. So that's why it's said in First Corinthians seven, I'll just read for you. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them that they abide even as I but if they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn. And I agree with that statement. It's better to marry than to burn, burn and desire for a spouse to desire that type of relation with a person. You should get married to fulfill those desires. They're God given desires. They're healthy. They're normal. They're natural. But God wants that confined in marriage. He wants that put only in marriage. Now Ruth finds herself in a delicate situation because she's a mobile itis. She was married to a child of Israel. She's come back with her mother in law. And her mother in law wants her to seek marriage. She wants her to have some rest, doesn't she? Look at verse two. And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou was. Behold, he went with barley tonight in the threshing floor. Verse three, wash thyself therefore and anoint thee and put thy raiment upon thee and get thee down to the floor. But make not myself known to the man until she have done eating and drinking. And it shall be when he lies down, thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie. And thou shalt go in and cover his feet and lay thee down. And he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me, I will do. So notice that Naomi is giving her marriage advice. She's giving her and some directions on how to locate a husband. And she points to Boaz. She says, Hey, how about Boaz? He's of our kindred. He's near of kin. And she says that she wants her to go where he's going to be lying down at night and to take off his shoes. Okay, that's what it's saying. It says, uncover his feet. What is that in the Bible? That's taking off the shoes. And we can prove that in a little bit. Okay, from the subject. So that's weird. It is kind of weird. Okay. But we'll explain what that means in a moment. Verse six. And she went down into the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law, bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was Mary, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn. And she came softly and uncovered his feet and laid her down. So that phrase again, it's taking off the shoes, look at verse eight. And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid and turned himself and behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmade, spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmade, for thou art a near kinsman. Now, this is very clear in the Bible what this means. But I've heard a lot of bad interpretations of this past like horrible interpretations. Okay. Some people would say that Boaz had like a blanket on and she went and she took the blanket off of him and was and was wearing it. But first of all, that would make sense. Because she's asking for something after that, if you've already taken the blanket, you'd be like, Sorry, I stole your blanket. Right? You wouldn't be then asking for the blanket. Second of all, nowhere in the Bible is a blanket referred to as a skirt. Okay, so then some people say, well, Boaz was wearing a skirt. And she took the skirt from off of him, and then was asking for it. But again, that doesn't make sense. She already took it right. She already did it. She already has it. Now the word skirt in your Bible can mean a few different things. And it's very clear what she's asking here. But don't just take my word for it. Keep your finger here and go to Deuteronomy 22. Go to Deuteronomy 22. What is she asking? She is asking for Boaz to marry her. She is asking for him to take her as his wife. That's what it means for him to spread his skirt upon her. It's not a literal skirt. He doesn't wear a skirt. No man in the Bible, least godly men wear a skirt. I don't know what they're wearing in Sodom and Gomorrah, but you know, all God's people were never wearing skirts. The men that is okay, they're always wearing linen breaches, or hose in or some kind of pants. That's what the Bible teaches. Okay. So it would be ridiculous to try and put Boaz in a woman's garment, which is a skirt and the Bible is crystal clear that a skirt is a woman's garment through and through everywhere. Now you have to understand the word skirt can mean three different things. And even if you look at in a dictionary, skirt can mean three different things. And this is where sometimes people get confused. Look at Deuteronomy 22 verse 30. A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt. So notice the Bible is helping us understand that his wife is his skirt. When the Bible refers to the skirt of a father or the skirt of a man, it's talking about his wife, that is one possible definition of the word skirt. Okay. Now, somebody would say, Well, maybe it's dudes wearing skirts, and he's like, don't peek on the David's skirt. No, this is that would be somebody lives in Ireland or Scotland and you know, wearing the kilt, but that's that's a wicked garment. Okay. And that's a perverted mind that would think that that's what they're saying. Now prove it further, go to Deuteronomy 27, go to Deuteronomy 27. The Bible makes it even more explicit that in this context, the father's skirt is in reference to his wife. Now, in years past, this would be not that hard for people to believe okay. In the time of the 20s and the 30s and the 40s and the 50s when women actually only wear skirts, they would often refer to women as a skirt. Okay. You'd have a guy and a girl walk in a couple, and a guy would look at the other guy and say, Hey, who's the skirt? It's not the dude wearing a skirt. Hey, who's his skirt over there? You know, hey, two skirts came in here to broads today, damsels, man, you know, it's just, it's just an expression. Why would you refer to a person as a skirt because they wear it? Why do you choose which bathroom use? It's a skirt. Let me tell you a secret. It's because you see the skirt on the door. They'd literally change the word girl into a picture of a skirt. And somehow nobody's offended by that. I've never met anybody that's just like, I have a stupid door. So misogynistic, you know, it's it's just so evil. People just look at the door with a picture of a girl in a skirt and they're like, that's the women's restroom. But somehow, me saying that a skirt in the Bible means a woman people just lose their minds. They're like, ah, that's not what the Bible means. That's not what the Bible is saying. Yes, it is. Look at verse 20. Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife, because he uncovered his father's skirt. And all the peoples say, Amen. What what is the Bible telling us? It's saying, hey, if you lie with a dude's wife, that's his skirt. So whenever Ruth is saying, hey, spread therefore thy skirt upon my handmade, she's saying, hey, will you make me your wife? Will you take me as your wife? Now, that would be somewhat uncomnally or somewhat seemingly, you know, wrong or weird for a woman to ask a man in marriage. But we have to understand a few things here. First of all, Ruth is only the following the instructions of her mother in law. She's doing exactly what her mother in law told her. Now her mother in law is doing exactly what the Bible told her to do. So some people that take offense at what I'm preaching here, and they would say, Well, what you're teaching is that Ruth is this rebellious woman, and she's this feminist, and she's going around, and she's just demanding that Boaz marry her. No. Because the Bible told Ruth to do this, go to Deuteronomy 25, go to Deuteronomy 25 now. And this is how you can prove a couple things. First of all, we know that Naomi is reading her Bible. Because nobody thinks of this on their own. No one. Okay. No one thinks of this on their own. But it doesn't do to 25 verse five. If brethren dwell together and one of them died, have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger, her husband's brother shall go in under her and take her to him to wife and perform the duty of an husband's brother under her. And it shall be that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother, which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate under the elders and say, my husband's brother refused it to raise up unto his brother named Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother, then the elders of his city shall call him and speak on him. And if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her, then shows his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders and lose his shoe from off his foot and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, so shall it be done under the man that will not build up his brother's house, and his name shall be called in Israel, the house of him that hath his shoe loosed. So the Bible makes it very clear that if a woman, her husband dies, that some near of kin was supposed to raise up seed under that man with this woman take her as his wife. Now notice again that he has the choice, doesn't he? If he doesn't want to marry this woman, if he doesn't want to raise up seed, he can reject her. There's just consequences. What's the consequence that the woman who he rejected? Notice, doesn't it say that the woman it says in verse number nine, then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders and lose his shoe off his foot. So who's the person that does it? The woman, the woman in the presence of all the men, she's going to take the shoe off of the man spit in his face and then he has a bad rep. He has a bad reputation of him that had the shoe loosed. Okay. So now let's think about the story. What does Ruth do? She goes down to Boaz. She takes off his shoe and she says, Hey, spread therefore thy skirt upon thine handmaid. She's basically saying, this is what's going to happen if you don't. Isn't she? Isn't she just basically saying, Hey, I don't know a hundred percent. You can't tell if Ruth knew what she was doing. Okay. Naomi obviously did. Naomi's obviously giving you these instructions. Ruth just being faithful. She probably thought it was weird. I had to go to this guy, take a shoe off and then ask him to marry. I don't even know what's going on here. Okay. But Boaz obviously immediately recognizes what is taking place here. Okay. Now, before we finish this story, I want to go on a rabbit trail for just a minute though, because we've been bringing up the skirt. We've been bringing up these other things. Go to Deuteronomy 22, go to Deuteronomy 22 and your Bibles. And look at verse number five. It says the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man. Neither shall a man put on a woman's garment for all that do. So our abomination under the Lord thy God. Now that's a very strong commandment in the Bible. He's saying that if you commit this sin, you are an abomination. It's saying you as a person, you are an abomination. Okay. Now it starts out by saying a woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man. Neither shall a man put on a woman's garment. So it's saying a woman can't wear a man's clothing and a man can't wear a woman's clothing. If you do, you are an abomination. The question for a lot of people is, well, what is that which pertaineth unto a man? What is that which pertaineth unto a woman? What's a woman's garment? Wasn't it convenient that in the exact same chapter, only a few verses, it tells us in verse 30, that the father's wife nor discover his father's skirt. Isn't that interesting that in the exact same chapter, it brings up an article of clothing that's defined as a woman. A woman is literally defined as a garment in the Bible. And then you tell people, you know, that's the garment that defines a woman. And they're like, where did you come up with that? The Bible, the restroom, common sense, logic, historical facts, just everything. And they're just like, nah, I don't believe that. I don't agree with that. And basically, here's, here's the reality. People either accept the fact that a woman's garment is a skirt. And the opposite would be true that men's garment is pants, or they don't really believe this verse. Now, some people say, Oh, I just think cross jesting in general is, you know, offensive. And they'll try to say that there's a difference between men's pants and women's pants. Okay. Now, let me just help you out. What's the difference between men's pants, women pants, the zippers on the other side? Okay, that's not the problem. Okay. If you were going to summarize it, it's the tightness, isn't it? Why what is, you know, skinny jeans or queer looking jeans? What's the difference between those and normal men's pants? They're tight. What do women wear the most tight form fitting pants on the planet? Okay. So let's think about this logically. Let's say that this verse is saying that women should not wear men's pants, they should wear women's pants. So you're telling me that God thinks if a woman has a form fitting pair of pants on, God's pleased with that. But if she's wearing loose pants, all of a sudden, now it's an abomination. That's nonsense. That's not being, you know, fair with the Bible, or even trying to understand the Bible, because we all know that women who wear pants, they're form fitting. And we all know that no one on the planet that's trying to be honest with the Bible would realize and say that, hey, oh, yeah, that's the abomination. Those baggy pants that you're wearing, man, you need to get some form fitting pants on. That's a pervert. That's someone gross that's thinking that. That's why the distinction that God had is a skirt and pants showing a difference between the genders. That was the point. That was the purpose. And the most gender bending societies that in this world now that just keep coming up with the most crazy things. We actually see this as rampant in this nation. Pretty much everybody accepts the fact that women can wear whatever they want. Nobody bats an eye, or they can not wear whatever they want. Basically, I mean, it's just it's nonsense. Okay. For a man to wear a woman's garment is still at least kind of an abomination for most people. I mean, most people would be freaked out seeing a dude in a dress. Praise the Lord for that. I'm afraid, though, the way America is going, it might get to a point where the majority of Americans don't even think it's weird anymore. And you say, I don't think that's possible. Well, there used to be a time and day in America when you said women wearing pants, people are gonna think that's normal. And people wouldn't believe you then either. But it's already normal. It's already happened. It's already been normalized. Why do I think that the other can't be true? Look, men wear kilts in other countries, and it's considered normal. Today, you go to Muslim nations, and I don't know what it is that they're wearing, but it looks like a dress. It looks like a skirt. I don't I'm not interested in that kind of a garment. I don't want to wear that type of a garment. I want to look like a man today. And it's super important. And people want to freak out about this commandment and get all, you know, hurt their feelings hurt. And like, ah, you don't like me and you hate. Look, I don't care. I don't go around picking people apart on this doctrine. I preach it from the from the pulpit because that's what the Bible says. You know what, I don't go around picking people apart and just you're an abomination. You're an abomination. You're not. I just try to love on people and be nice to people. But at the end of the day, yes, my wife only wears dresses and skirts. And you know what, I never even forced her to do it. I just told her the Bible said and I tried to love her. And through God's Word, it changed her heart. She decided she wanted to change. And you know, praise the Lord for that. Praise the Lord that she has the harder job than me because I didn't have to change my physical clothing. You know, for the most part, I may had to throw out a couple pairs of shorts that were, you know, tempting something I didn't want to tempt, you know, but I didn't want to force her to be in a difficult situation. And I get it. Women, there's a lot of pressure on your appearance. There's a lot of pressure to conform to Hollywood's image. There's a lot of pressure to these things. You know what women look more beautiful, the more feminine they look. That's why every single where wedding ceremony a woman's wearing a dress virtually. Because they know it looks pretty. That's why when you look at any formal where it's always dresses and gowns, the prom, they're always wearing some kind of address why they know that that makes them look pretty. That makes them look more feminine. That's what's attractive. And look, I don't think a woman looks more attractive in pants. They don't. I was being honest with you. They don't. They look more attractive in a dress. They look more attractive in that which is godly. That's why even the secular world, if they're trying to make it look, I'll just be honest with you, the secular world, Coca Cola, or McDonald's or whatever, if they're trying to appeal to people, and they're putting a woman in a garment, it's going to be addressed and she's gonna have long hair every single time. Because they know that that's what's attractive. You go to like gap where they just don't really care. Then there's like these weird transgender freaks and all kinds of stuff. But I'm taking like ads where they know that they're trying to provoke men to buy it because of sex appeal or whatever. They're going to have a woman in a dress or a miniskirt or something like that with long hair because they know that that's what's attractive. Now, some people that would argue with me about this, they would say, well, I just still don't agree. You know, I think that we would have laws like that when we did. You know, in America, it was literally illegal to cross dress, it was illegal for a woman to wear a pair of pants. It was illegal for a man to put on a dress. I wish you still had those laws. You know, I read an article in 2014. So not that long ago. Now this is not America, this is Malaysia. But they overturned a state law that barred Muslim women for dressing as women. But it's been overturned. So even in other countries, they still have laws against transgender dressing. But these transgender freaks have destroyed that law. It said they found the law unconstitutional. It's degrading and oppressive and inhumane. The verdict was heralded by human rights organizations worldwide as a step in recognition of modern human rights. Look, America is trying to shove this gender down everybody's throat. Now there was also similar rules in America. In fact, a person perceived as a male, who dressed in clothing customarily designed for women, could technically be arrested in New York for impersonating a female as recently as 2011. So even up to 2011, in New York, someone could be arrested for wearing the wrong type of clothing, a man wearing a woman's garment or a woman wearing a man's garment. Obviously, they haven't been enforcing it that much. Okay. But people look at me as weird. They look at us as changing. They're the ones that are changing here. Okay. In Columbus, Ohio, when which is one of the earliest ordinance was instituted in 1848 law forbade a person from appearing in public and address not belonging to his or her sex. In decades that followed more than 40 US cities created similar laws limiting the clothing people were allowed to wear in public. Look, virtually all the states of America had laws against cross dressing. This isn't like a unique doctrine. This isn't something that we just made up. This has been the historical viewpoint, the historical doctrine, what everybody's believed. It's us that are crazy. It's us that are weird. And you say, Well, who changed the agenda? Who decided to get rid of all these trans, you know, these cross dressing laws was faggots is who was in Houston, Texas. Okay. In 1968, there was a bunch of police officers that raided the plantation club, and they made several wet arrests of women wearing fly front pants. Let me just help you out. The cops raided a club and arrested several women for wearing pants in Houston, Texas in 1968. And I'm the crazy one. Because I still believe that women should wear a skirt and dress. Look, you would have to say all of them are crazy, too. You'd have to say that everybody has been crazy for just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. It's not just me. That's crazy. Either we're all crazy for hundreds of years, or they're crazy. There's not there's not a neutral opinion here. Okay. Let me read you a few more things. And Houston it was this is the ordinance Okay, it shall be unlawful for any person to appear on any public street sidewalk alley or other public through fair dress with the designed intent to disguise his or true sex as that of the opposite sex. So just trying to look like a woman or trying to look like a man, and that was classified as dressing in that way, you would be arrested. Now, how did that law get overturned? Well, there's a person named Richard Anthony Mays, who lived in Houston, he was trying to get a he was trying to get a change operation. Because he didn't want to be a man anymore. He wanted to go and be Rochelle. Okay. And he constantly getting arrested. I have all these news articles, you can read them if you're interested. He's constantly trying to get this law off the books in Houston. And he keeps, you know, losing in court this year after year. This is like 1972. Okay, so that was 1968 1972. And just for year after year, this guy keeps getting arrested. He keeps dressing like a woman. And they keep losing. He's arrested again for wearing a pink mini dress. And but this is they only find them $1. So they're not really bringing down the hammer on this. They find them $1. Okay, 1972. Well, finally, another transgender freak. There was a graduate of Texas A&M. I just want to throw that in there. This person named Phyllis Frye, transsexual Aggie. It says where else but in Texas. This is the article. It's like slamming Texas. I can't believe, you know, Texas is such a good, you know, reputation. Well, this person, or thing or whatever it is, constantly is advocating against this law from 1979. And then in 1980, they finally get the ordinance appealed by what to transgender freaks to Trent. Look, I want women to wear pants. Oh, just like all the faggots were trying to get done. Look, you're following the footsteps of literal faggots, the most disgusting, vile people. Those are the ones that hated those laws. Those are the ones that change their dress. Those are the ones that want to bend society and conform society to their image, and they're winning. And you know what, they'll constantly get arrested, and they'll constantly be harassed and constantly persecuted for their beliefs. How come Christians won't? How come Christians can't stand up and believe the truth and believe the Bible today? They're all scared. They're a bunch of cowards. Look, the Bible is crystal clear. And I'm not afraid of preaching Deuteronomy 22. I'm not afraid of preaching any of the Bible. I believe it all. And you're sick if you want to follow in the footsteps of faggots today. As for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord. And we're going to try and dress godly today. Not like the world wants me to dress because it's been their constant agenda for men to dress like women and women to dress like men. You know why? So that the faggots can blend in. It's hard to figure them out. Now. You go to the mall, and it's just like, I don't know what anything is out there. Because all the dudes are dressing like a fag queer today. And all the women have short hair, and they're wearing pants. You can't even tell what's a lesbian anymore. Because virtually every older woman looks like a lesbian. I'm sorry to offend you today. I'm sorry that grandma looks like a lesbian today. But you know she should dress like a godly woman. It's not right. And what kind of example are you setting for your children by teaching them this? Why don't we teach them what America used to be like? Why don't we teach them what the Bible says? Why don't we teach them what a godly person wants today? It's disgusting. And this stupid idea. I've heard, you know, Baptists get up and say, Oh, Boaz is wearing a skirt. No, he wasn't. Evil person you. Now look, skirt can be in reference to men's garments a couple times in the Bible. But let me make it clear what they're referring to. They're referring to the edge of a garment. Sometimes it'll say the skirt of his garment. And I what this what's the skirt of the garment? It's any part of your garment that's hanging below the waist. So this portion would be like the skirt of my coat. Okay, so someone could cut off my skirt. But it wouldn't be the fact that I'm wearing a skirt. So sometimes they people get confused. They're like, Oh, David cut off Saul's skirt. He wasn't wearing a skirt. He was wearing a coat. And he cut out the skirt of his garment. Okay, that's what the Bible is teaching. Boaz was not wearing a skirt. Ruth took off the shoe. And it's just crystal clear in the Bible. I've explained this to false prophets, and they still can't even get it. It's weird. Go back to Ruth. Okay. I can preach on that subject a lot more, but I like to address it when we're talking about the skirt. Okay, the Bible is crystal clear. My women in my family are going to wear skirts. And if that offends you, then so be it. But I'm offended by a dude wearing a skirt. And the people that aren't offended by that pretty soon is gonna be happening everywhere. It's gonna be sick, it's gonna be gross. And the way the legislation is going, you're going to be persecuted for saying it's gross. You're gonna be persecuted for saying it's bad or wicked or whatever. That's the weather kind of heading people and trying to get them in this weird gender bending society. It's gross. I don't want anything to do with it. Look at verse number 10. It says, and he said, blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter, for thou has showed more kindness in the latter end, then at the beginning, as much as thou falls, not young men, whether poor or rich, and now my daughter, fear not I will do to the all that thou requirest for all the city of my people does know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsmen. Again, if we go to these stupid interpretations of the blanket, and he's wearing a skirt, like, what is his relation to her have anything to do with that? Hey, can I get a blanket in the night? Well, I am my first cousin, you know, so obviously, it's gonna work out. You know, it says, but then look at this answer. How be it there is a kinsman near the night. Can you imagine you're staying with your uncle? And you're like, can I borrow a blanket? Well, I am your uncle, but there's an uncle closer to you. Well, can I get one from him? What's the deal here? I'm kind of looking for, you know, that's not what she's asking for. She's asking for marriage. Okay, because look what he says, Terry this night, that means wait, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well, let him do the part of the camp, do the kinsman's part. But if he will not do the part of the kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth lie down until the morning. Now again, let's I like to take this stupid analogy. Okay, let's say it was a blanket or some type of a coat or garment. Did Boaz give it to her? No, even if you took that interpretation, she's like, can I get a blanket for the night? Nope, you can wait until tomorrow, and hope that the other guy gives it to you. Now you laugh, okay. But I'm not joking. Tyler Baker, the guy that was in faith board Baptist Church, the beacon there, okay. He started his rebellious, you know, wicked church, valiant Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. He taught on this chapter. And he literally preaches that Boaz was wearing a skirt, and that she asked for the skirt, and they was covering with it. So I preached in Jacksonville sermon on this topic, and I covered this portion of the Bible, and I made it crystal clear. I said exactly the same thing to you. I made a clip about it. He and all of the people in his church watched it. And they still disagree with my interpretation. They still think it's a garment. They still think that I'm saying something. You're like, Oh, you're saying that is rebellious. That's because you're blinded. If you can still think that she was not asking for marriage after having this explained to you, you have a problem. You have a lot of problems. That's why I'm bringing it up. Okay, so someone can't get this after you explain it to them. Just stay away from them. Okay. Look at verse 14. And she laid his feet until the morning and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. And he said, Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. And she went into the city. And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said, these six measures of barley gave he me for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. Then she said, Sit still, my daughter, until they'll know how the matter will fall. For the man will not be in rest until he has finished the thing this day. So Naomi understands what happened. She understands that he has to check and make sure who is the closest of kin and this other guy is going to do it. But she understands Boaz is going to take care of it right now. Because he's not going to risk Ruth going down there and the presence of all the elders ripping off the shoes, spitting in his face and being like this guy's got a bad rep. Okay. So what's the point of this chapter? Well, first of all, we see the importance of marriage. Isn't Ruth going and seeking to be married again. And we see the importance of hey, she's still getting to choose who she wants. Boaz is saying he's willing to marry this woman. We see that, you know, a lot of great symbolism here. I don't have enough time to go through all the symbolism. But one thing I also like is that Naomi is obviously one who knows the Bible well. She wouldn't have come up with this just on her own. Nobody comes up with that on their own. They read, she read the Bible, she followed God's commandments, and notice they're going to be blessed greatly for doing what? Following God's commands. If Naomi did not read the Bible, Ruth would have never done this. She would have never got the marriage that she did. Here's another thing I want to point out. Is Ruth a Moabitess? Yeah, she's a Moabitess. Did Boaz, when she asked Boaz to marry her? I can't marry you because you're a Moabitess. Did he say that? No. Now that's interesting, because how do we start the chapter? We start the chapter with Elimelech leaving the children of Israel going into Moab. He dies. Then Malon and Chilean marry women of Moab. They die. And here's the reality. Was it a sin for them to go into Moab and marry those women? Yes. And the Bible made it crystal clear they were not supposed to make any kind of covenant with these people. They're not supposed to make any kind of marriage with these people. They're not supposed to enter the congregation of the Lord. But notice something had to have changed, because Boaz knows the Bible. Boaz is a great man of God. Is Boaz saying, I can't marry you, you're a Moabitess? No. By her having gotten married to Malon, that changed her identity, didn't it? That changed her status. And we even see he points out the fact that she trusted in the Lord. So we have in the Bible, theoretically, I don't know if this is the right word, but an exception in a sense of once she's been married under this man, she's no longer has the identity of a Moabitess, does she? Now that she's trusted in the Lord, she wants to serve the God, she has no longer that identity. That tells me, pictures the fact that, hey, once you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, your Son of God, you don't have to worry about that past identity you had. Now you're a son. Now you get to inherit all the blessings. What does she have? She has the inheritance of Malon. It's hers. And in fact, when you get to chapter number four, you're going to see that they have to take the inheritance of Elimelech, or not Elimelech, I'm sorry, Malon, and they have to raise up seed onto Malon. And Ruth's going to be greatly blessed by what? By the fact that they're following this commandment, and she's going to have a child that's in the lineage of Jesus Christ. She's literally in the lineage of our Lord and Savior. Why she's following the commandments of God. She's being obedient under God's word, and she's going to be greatly blessed through that. That tells me that no matter what you think about your life, following these rules is always the most important thing. It doesn't matter. Do you really think I should wear a dress or a skirt? I should dress like a man. Yeah, following God's commandments is always the right thing to do. And you're always going to be blessed by that. Additionally, hey, once you're a son, you're a son forever. Once you're a daughter of God, you're a daughter of God. You get to inherit the blessings. We see that in the Old Testament, God didn't just hate certain people because of their ethnicity. He didn't hate people because of their blood type. He didn't hate people because of some physical characteristics. It was because the Moabites worshiped false gods. It's because they're sacrificing their children and the devils. That's why he hates this nation. That's why they're not supposed to go into marrying these women. And Ruth is an exception. Ruth is a person who decides to love the Lord and to trust in the Lord and to come out from among them and to become somebody that's of the child of Israel. And it points to the Gentiles. It points to salvation. It points to a lot of great spiritual truths that we have in the Bible. So I encourage you to read the book of Ruth over and over. There's a lot of spiritual truths that we can pull out of this. But we're going to get in chapter four next week and kind of conclude. And I don't know if we'll definitely go back to Ezra immediately or not, but I think it's going to help us when we get to the latter chapters of Ezra because we deal with some more difficult subjects and some more controversial viewpoints. Okay, let's close in prayer. Thank you, Father, for so much for your word. Thank you for giving us your clear commandments. I pray that we'd all have the faith to follow your commandments, no matter how weird the world gets. No, how much we disagree with what the Bible says. We just need to submit ourselves unto your commandments, unto your word, not trust in our own selves, but just give heed to all of thy commandments, even the least ones, and to think that they're important. We see that Ruth and Naomi took seriously some of the least commandments, some of the commandments that may not have made complete sense in the flesh, but you greatly bless both Naomi and Ruth through following thy word. And I pray that every single person in this room would understand the importance of your word and following your commandments. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.