I am Ruth grandmother of King David. I am the cement that binds. .. Ruth follows the book of Judges in Christian versions of the Old Testament, but in the Hebrew Bible it is found in the third part of the canon, which is known as the Writings. This ancient Hebrew story tells of a family from the town of Bethlehem in Judea that takes refuge in the country of Moab during a famine. While there, the sons of the Judean family marry Moabite women. When the father and the two sons die, Naomi, the mother, returns to her home in Bethlehem. Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law, insists on returning with her (1:16-17).

Ruth is a beautiful,and loving symbol of loyalty, honesty, sincerity, perseverance, and self-denial. She was willing to take the responsibility that really wasn't hers, in a sense. Not like Orpah,her sister in-law, who wanted to turn back and go back into the world, but like Christ, Ruth was willing to leave her mother, willing to leave her father, leave the homeland, leave the land of her kindred and fasten herself hard to her mother-in-law and say, Wherever you go I will go. Wherever you live I will live. Wherever you die I will die. Your people shall be my people and only death shall part us. You know, that's exactly the way that we've got to be with Jesus. We've got to tie ourselves to the Lord and say, "Lord, wherever You go I will go. Whatever You do I will do. Your people shall be my people. I'll leave the land of my kindred." You know, the land of your kindred is your flesh. "I'll leave my ambition, I'll leave the land of my kindred.

This is the life of Ruth, the beautiful life of Ruth: Ruth standing beside her responsibility, never forsaking her responsibility, leaving the land of her kindred. When Naomi said to her, Ruth, Orpah has gone back to her people, you need to go back, too. Ruth wouldn't do that.

When they started to leave the land of the kindred, she turned around and said, Now look, daughters-in- law, your husbands, my sons, are dead. Now I'm old, and there's no more children in my womb, even if you should wait. Now, go back to the land of your kindred. Get on back down there and stay with your mother and father. I've been stripped of everything I have. I don't have anything dear to me anymore. My husband is gone, my children are gone, I don't have anything anymore. I'm going back to the land of my kindred.

Now, the beauty is not Naomi, the beauty is Ruth. Naomi said, I'm going back to the land of my kindred.

Ruth couldn't see out front. She didn't know what was waiting on her. She didn't know one of the richest men in all the country was just waiting to embrace her, and to give her the very desires of her heart. She had no idea that that was waiting on her. She'd never have another heartache, never have another sorrow. She didn't visualize anything like that. All she had was Naomi and she saw that Naomi was stripped of everything. She couldn't give her anything. That's the beauty of it!

Ruth's devotion and kindness attracted the attention of Naomi's kinsman Boaz (2:1-4:12). He said, Who is this young maid? Where does she come from? What is she doing out here? And then they began to tell him, and he became more interested as he heard them tell her story. Finally, he said to the young men or different ones, Drop a little bit on purpose for her.

Somebody said, "Well, he was interested in her." No, he wasn't interested in her that way. You say he was interested in her flesh. No, he wasn't. The Bible bears out the fact he wasn't. It wasn't until he came to the threshing floor that he even considered her. But he saw the loyalty, the perseverance, the concern for the responsibility she had taken on. And he got concerned about her. He said, Do something to help this woman. Help her with her responsibility. But, God had more plans than that. God's plans are greater than that. The fields of Boaz. It wasn't long before Boaz finally got around to the major issue. Then he said, Ruth, would you marry me? It wasn't Naomi anymore. It wasn't poverty anymore. Can you imagine that?

Finally he said, Will you marry me? And she said, I will. And that's how David came along. That's how king David got here. See the great grandfather? Through the marriage of Ruth and Boaz came Obed. And from there came Jesse the father of David. And from there came the man after God's own heart.

That was Ruth. Ruth just projected, through the third and fourth generation, that same loving heart of Ruth came right on down and God said, I want that heart of Ruth. He couldn't do all he wanted with a woman so he just put it in a man. Made a king out of him.

How many of you would like to labor in God's fields? The harvest is ripe. The laborers are few. Pray ye therefore, that God or the Lord of the vineyard will send forth laborers into His harvest or into His vineyard. This little verse I read to you, I will establish My covenant: you see a marriage, and a lot of times they'll give them a diamond. The reason for that is the bow. It's in a circle.

And it has the radiance and splendor as the light of the heavens hits that diamond and the fire of the rainbow colors come out. It's the covenant. Until death do we part. I establish My covenant with you for perpetual generations. God has made a covenant with us. I believe in it. Fear not for as I have a covenant with you, My Spirit remaineth among you.I Am Timeless. Forever Was, Forever Will Be.