Sovereign Happenings Make Provision

Transcript

GRM 905
06/13/2004
Sovereign Happenings Make Provision
Ruth 2:1-23
Gil Rugh

I want to direct your attention to the book of Ruth. The main character in chapter 1 is Ruth. Naomi is the dominant character, but Ruth becomes the key person in the book that bears her name. In chapter 2 we are introduced to the second main character and that is the man who is going to marry Ruth, that is the man Boaz. And we noted that Ruth becomes key because at the end of the book of Ruth we will get a genealogy and this genealogy enables us to connect Jesus Christ through David back to Judah and demonstrate that He is in the line. What happens is that Ruth and Boaz will be the ancestors of David. So it’s an important connection to the book. We not only get insight into God’s sovereignty in individual lives here, but we see His sovereignty in preparing the line of the Messiah, the Davidic line, so that all the promises and prophecies can be fulfilled.

Chapter 1 stressed the sovereignty of God even in the difficulties and tragedies of our lives. The worst of tragedies that have overtaken Naomi and Ruth are all within the sovereign plan of God. Naomi acknowledged that, remember, at the end of chapter 1 verse 20. She says “the Almighty,” Shaddai, the all powerful one “has dealt very bitterly with me.” At the end of verse 21, “the Lord has witnessed against me, the Almighty has afflicted me.” So there is an emphasis that God is sovereign in these tragedies and Naomi acknowledges it. There is no bitterness toward God. God has brought bitterness, the unpleasantness to her life. That doesn’t mean Naomi is a bitter person toward God, and that obviously has impacted her daughter-in-law, Ruth, who determines to be committed to the God of Naomi even though He has dealt harshly with Naomi and with her. The difficulties brought on Naomi have greatly impacted Ruth. She lost her husband. They continue to serve the God of Israel.

So we come to chapter 2 and it will give us some insight into also how the poor were cared for in Israel. We talked about widows in our consideration in I Timothy chapter 5. Here we see the provision that was made for widows in Israel. God had provided that during harvest time when they went through and harvested the grain they were not to work their way all the way to the edges and corners of the field. They were to allow some of that grain to remain behind so that the widows and the orphans could come later and harvest some of what was left over. It was also that if they gathered the stalks and some would fall by the way they weren’t to go back and pick those up. They were also to be left for the widows and the poor.

Turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 24. This is mentioned in Leviticus also, but we’ll just take it from Deuteronomy chapter 24 verse 19, when you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the alien, for the orphan, for the widow in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree you shall not go over the boughs again. In other words they shake the olive tree so the olives fall off, but they don’t go back under the tree and say we left some there, let’s go back again. No, they are left there for the same purpose—for the alien, the orphan, the widow. The alien would be one that could be destitute as well because they have no family. They would be in the position that Naomi was when she was in the land of the Moabites. How was she going to live or get anything to eat? Within Israel there was provision even for the alien, and so the grapes of the vineyard also, in verse 21. So that’s provision for the alien, for the orphan. So in these fields at harvest time when the harvesters were done there would be some grain, some olives, some grapes that have been left over. It’s hard work. We see this with Ruth. You go out and you work through the heat of the day, trying to gather whatever you can to get enough to have food for the family. You would have the aliens there, the foreigners, you would have the widows there, you would have orphans, children there.

That’s the setting here as chapter 2 opens up. Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth of the family of Elimelech. Remember Elimelech was her husband, so it’s a relative of Elimelech. It’s not a brother, but it is a close relative. His name was Boaz. We’re introduced to him in this way because this becomes key to everything else that happens in the book. Who is Boaz? He’s a relative. He’s not the closest relative to Naomi but he is second closest and thus is in a position to make special provision for Naomi and thus for Ruth. The function is known as the kinsman/redeemer, that near relative who can redeem the person in this situation. We’ll have more to say about that as we move through Ruth.

Verse 2, and Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi. You ought to note, there is a constant reminder that Ruth is a Moabitess. There is no other woman named Ruth in this book. They don’t keep saying Naomi, the Jew, but we’re constantly reminded. Chapter 1 ended in verse 22, Naomi returned and with her Ruth the Moabitess. And chapter 2 opens up in verse 2, and Ruth the Moabitess. Down in verse 6, she is the young Moabite woman. Verse 21, then Ruth the Moabitess said. And over in chapter 4 verse 10, Boaz will refer to Ruth the Moabitess. In verse 5 of chapter 4 she was referred to as Ruth the Moabitess. That constant reminder here of God’s grace and remember the reminder that God’s grace includes non-Jews, even in the Old Testament. This Ruth the Moabitess is going to be in the Messianic line because through her the line of David is found and thus the line of the Messiah. She’s a foreigner, she’s an outsider.

Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor. And Naomi said to her, go my daughter. Ruth is familiar with the provision. Perhaps Naomi talked to her about it. She desires to go and find a field where she’ll be able to gather. Again, this is a difficult situation to be put in as a woman, doubly difficult, and this will be emphasized in the chapter, for a young woman like Ruth where now you’re going to go out into the field and you could be mistreated. Get out of the field! I mean you’re a foreigner, what are you doing here? Get out. We say well it provided for the alien. But we’re in the time of the judges and there is no central law in Israel, there is no king. Everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Furthermore, you could meet some pretty rough people out here, doing the harvesting, which would put the woman in difficulty, both for physical harm because even though the law said this is the provision to be made, read the book of Judges. Israel is pretty loose in obeying the law in some very serious ways. So for a woman to have to go out here, and that’s why you find her saying let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor, someone who will be open to me to do gleaning in their field. So in a way it’s a stab in the dark. She doesn’t know. She’ll go and try a field. She may get run off that field and the owner of the field will say get out of here, I’m not having a Moabitess in my field. Maybe he won’t let anybody glean. It may be a person who is going to disregard the law and be sure he gets every scrap he can. Remember, this is the time of the judges.

But Ruth realizes, what are we going to do—sit here and starve? Naomi, being older, probably is not in the kind of condition to go out and do the hard labor. I mean what are you going to do? You have to go out in the hot sun, bend over all day picking up grain that has fallen on the ground. So through the heat of the day you’re out there bent over, walking and picking up whatever you can, carrying it along. You appreciate Ruth is not a lazy person here, and that comes out as well.

Verse 3, so she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. So according to provision that we read in Deuteronomy, she’s following the reapers. They’re done and whatever has been left behind here, so they’re ahead, they’re gleaning. Here is a field that is observing that provision that is allowing this kind of gleaning to go on, and they’re letting her, a foreigner, be part of it. I love the way it’s put in the middle of verse 3, she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz. What a stroke of luck--this Boaz who was of the family of Elimelech. You’ll not in the margin of my Bible where it says she happened, literally her chance chanced upon. This wasn’t a plan, Naomi didn’t suggest I have some relatives here, let me suggest you try their fields first. No. Ruth just went out looking for a field. And you see the sovereignty of God in what we would call the circumstances of life. She just happened to come and here’s a field where they are harvesting and she tried it and they let her harvest, and it just happened to be the field of Boaz who is a relative of her dead father-in-law, Elimelech.

Now behold Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, may the Lord be with you. And they said to him, may the Lord bless you. So here you have an indication of a godly man and he comes asking the Lord’s blessing on his workers. And they respond with a desire that the Lord will bless him. You get the sense of a good relationship here. Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman is this? I mean he looks out in the field and he sees some of these here and he sees a stranger that he doesn’t recognize. From him being a man of prominence as he is, he is well familiar with the widows and orphans who would be gathering in his field. And here is someone who is not recognizable.

The servant in charge of the reapers replied, she is the Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. Now this story has circulated around. Remember Naomi came back to Bethlehem, verse 19 of chapter 1, and all the city was stirred. Here was woman who left with her husband and family10 or more years ago, and she’s come back, a widow deprived of everything. But there is a Moabitess who was married to her dead son who’s come with here. Remarkable that this young woman would commit her life to a widow who has no future, as we talked about when we were in chapter 1. That story has spread. Naomi is back and a Moabitess who has committed herself to caring for her has come with her.

And she said please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she asked permission. Here’s a man in charge of the harvest, Boaz has addressed him in verse 5, the servant in charge of the harvest. She had to get permission and ask if it would be all right if she did this and she had received it. Thus she came, now note this, and she has remained from the morning until now, she has been sitting in the house for a little while. She took a little break, but here is a woman who has been out there working in the field for the day from the early morning. She had pursued it with diligence. The character of Ruth is admirable. She’s not a person bemoaning her fate. Here I’m a young woman, we talked about the widows in our study earlier today, but here’s a woman stuck with the care, not of her mother but of her mother-in-law. And it has evidently not been that long of a relationship because she didn’t have any children with Naomi’s son. I mean I was given the opportunity to have my family, perhaps have a man of means take care of me, to have my own children. Now what am I doing? I’m out here with the hopeless doing back breaking toil, walking bent over here through the heat of the sun, gathering up and trying to get enough stalks of grain to beat them out so we have enough to make some bread and survive for another day. You don’t get a bad attitude on her part, she’s been diligent. The servant has noticed her diligence and her hard work.

So Boaz goes and addresses Ruth. “ Listen carefully my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one but stay here with my maids.” In other words, Boaz is saying stay in my field. That’s a great step because now she has Boaz’ protection, if you will. I mean who is going to overrule Boaz? It’s his field, but now she is guaranteed a secure place here. And he tells her don’t go to other fields. Stay here with my maids, those who belong to him and thus are provided for by him. He calls her my daughter. It may indicate she is significantly younger than he is; it may just be an address of kindness. But many observe it may indicate, there’s further indication in the book that Boaz may be significantly older than Ruth.

Verse 9, he says let your eyes be on the field which they reap, go after them. Indeed I have commanded the servants not to touch you. Now remember the danger she could be in. These are servants out in the field and they could create great difficulty for her as well. She’s a foreigner, so who’s going to stick up for this foreign woman when these servants decide they want to fulfill some lustful desires. She’s a Moabitess. Just who represents her? I mean other widows that are Jews might create a problem, so here is someone who is especially vulnerable. But Boaz says nobody is to touch her. End of verse 9, the provision is not over, “when you are thirsty go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw”. He’s making gracious provision. He provides water for his servants because they need the strength to get the job done. You can go and drink from the provision I make for my servants and the water that is provided for them. So he makes provision for Ruth to make her situation as comfortable as possible. She still has to do the work, but he doesn’t say just sit here and my servants will gather grain and give it to you. But he does make her role much more easy. She is now under his protection and he does make provision for her—water so when she works through the heat of the day that will be a great provision.

Verse 10, then she fell on her face bowing to the ground and said to him, why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner? She is surprised by the favor and grace that Boaz shows to her. It’s especially surprising since she is not a Jew. You are well aware of some of the tensions that exist in the Middle East. You know we sometimes think the Jews are not that way. But we had a person who was here in our church a number of years ago and he went over and spent a year in Israel. He said I could not believe how terribly I was treated as a non-Jew. He said it was a terrible place for me to live as a non-Jew. That’s today. Back here you have a Moabitess, the Moabites, non-Jews. Well, she’s amazed. You know here you appreciate the attitude of Ruth, this will come our further as well. She didn’t come out here expecting God has to do something for me. Not doing this with the idea God owes me something—I have committed myself to taking care of Naomi, I’m out here working in the field, I would expect that God would do something like this. She’s amazed, I’m surprised. You know we sometimes are going to do something beyond what we would think would be expected and then we’re a little bit irritated that God hasn’t given us triple blessing for what we did. Ruth does not have that attitude, she doesn’t expect anything. She has committed her life to Naomi and the hardships that will bring. She bows down before Boaz and says I’m amazed that you should be so kind to me, and I’m a foreigner.

Boaz explains he had heard about her kindness to Naomi and how after the death of your father-in-law, your husband you’ve left your family, left your land and came to a people you didn’t know. I mean this is a major step. Boaz admires this woman. You would make such a commitment to Naomi that you’d leave your family and leave your land and come here. It’s not like you’re committed to someone that says come back I have wealth, I can take care of you. You’ve committed to someone you have to take care of and you don’t have any means except to go out and do the backbreaking work in the dangerous fields of Israel.

“May the Lord reward your work,” verse 12, “and your wages be full from the Lord the God of Israel under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” Little does Boaz know he is going to be the answer to his prayer. He asks that God would bless her and God would protect her. You know what? God is going to do that. And you know who God is going to use to do that? Boaz. He doesn’t know when he asked this blessing on her that he is the man that will bring that about. Beautiful expression here, "under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” There are many verses, but I want to just take you to one or two and then you can follow cross references through your Bible.

Turn to Psalm 17:8. his is God’s provision for those who trust in Him. And you’ll note what Boaz says. Humanly speaking Ruth has left everything, the best source of protection and provision would have been her own family in Moab. Boaz says you’ve come to the God of Israel and sought refuge under His wings. What better place of refuge. In Psalm 17 verse 8, “keep me as the apple of the eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who despoil me. My deadly enemies surround me.” That’s where my safety is. I’m under your protection, you care, under the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36 verse 7, “how precious is your lovingkindness oh God, and the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” We can’t go on. Psalm 57 verse 1, Psalm 61 verse 4, 63 verse 7, 91 verse 4. In Matthew 23:37 Jesus said “oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem how often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks but you would not.” We’re reminded, Ruth wasn’t taking a leap into the unknown when she committed herself to the God of Israel. She had the greatest protection, the greatest safety that could be found anywhere. Tremendous statement in verse 12.

Verse 13, she responds. “I have found favor in your sight my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, thought I am not like one of your maidservants.” I mean I’m a foreigner and you’re not really responsible for me. So she sees this as an exceptional act of kindness. I wrote down, “does not expect others to act graciously on our behalf.” We do not deserve favor or blessing from God or from others. So much of the unhappiness of our lives, our personal bitterness would be resolved if we didn’t go around expecting blessing, expecting people to show us special favor. So Ruth comes here. If anyone should have expected anything it would have been her. What a commitment she made to the God of Israel. You would expect that a godly man in Israel would honor that, but Ruth is overwhelmed with this mercy and favor. She acknowledges I don’t deserve it, you’re showing it upon one who would be the least worthy of such care. A godly woman.

Verse 14, at mealtime Boaz said to her, “come here that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers. I mean here she steps up, she’s not now sitting back there with a group of people trying to gather and glean. She’s come right on up with the workers and the provision made for them, where Boaz is. There is bread and they can dip it in the vinegar. So she sits beside the reapers. He’s serving roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left. Boaz is going beyond what would be required. He not only made gracious provision, now he wants to provide for her right here and now so she can eat. Now Boaz is not doing this with ulterior motives. He’s not a man here, well this is an opportunity for me, an older guy, younger woman. He doesn’t have ulterior motives here. We’ll see that as it moves along as well. But he has treated her extremely graciously. This would show the reapers that she was to be given preferential treatment, because if Boaz is treating her this way you certainly don’t want to do anything that would be misinterpreted here. So Boaz’ kindness to her in the presence of the reapers establishes her in a unique position.

Verse 15, “when she rose to glean Boaz commanded his servants saying, let her even glean among the sheaves.” She doesn’t have to wait until you get there and cut it down, so if she’d happen to get ahead of you or get into areas you haven’t gleaned, that’s just fine. You let her go ahead. So she not gets to pick up what’s dropped off, she can go ahead and pick what the harvesters haven’t gotten to yet. That’s fine. Let her glean even among the sheaves, don’t insult her. So again this area, even the servants of Boaz have to get clear instruction. Don’t insult her, don’t speak harshly to her. It would be an opportunity, Jews here ridiculing a Moabitess. Don’t want any insults going on. That would rule out any kind of sexual innuendoes and all those kind of things that might go on in this situation. Do not insult here. Also, that’s not enough. You shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean. Do not rebuke her. In other words you gather up all these bundles, you’re doing your harvesting as you’re walking along here, pull some out and drop them along the ground. See where she is and her path, leave some extra grain. The Lord sovereignly working. Remember she just happened to chance upon this field, where it happened to be a relative of Elimelech, and the man happens to be a godly, gracious man who appreciates her commitments to commit herself to the protection of the God of Israel even though she is a Moabitess. Then God has sovereignly moved to make provision for her and for Naomi. So you see here the warnings given, how God has put His protection over Ruth. The servants are sternly warned not to rebuke her, not to insult her and so on.

“She gleaned in the field until evening.” Remember she came in the morning, took a little break, but she’s not “enough to get by.” Here’s one who does a full day’s labor, hard work. “She gleaned in the field until evening.” Then she’s not done. Now she has to beat out what she gleaned so she has the grain. It was about an ephah of barley, that’s about a half bushel, about 30 lbs. That would supply food for many days, I mean this has been a fruitful day. Well of course, there has been some abundant provision for her and she’s a hard worker. When she gets all done and the grain is beaten out she has 30 lbs. of grain.

So verse 18, “she took it up and went into the city and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.” Remember from the roasted grain in verse 14 when she was done eating, she had some left. Well she wrapped that up and took it home so Naomi could enjoy some of the food Ruth had had for lunch and then they have the grain here that they can finish preparing and make bread out of and eat and so on.

“Her mother-in-law then said to her, where did you glean today? Where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” I mean Naomi has been around a long time, she realizes this is an unusual situation. You have received special attention. And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “the name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz. Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, may he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn His kindness to the living and to the dead.” I mean she asked God’s blessing upon him, that He hasn’t withdrawn His kindness to the living and the dead. To Naomi and Ruth, the living, and an act of kindness as the family member to the deceased family.

“And Naomi said to her, the man is our relative, one of our closest relatives,” or literally, one of our redeemers. He’s not only a relative, he is a close enough relative to perform the act of redemption for us. What is she talking about? Turn back to Deuteronomy 25. Another provision made in the law. Deuteronomy 25 verse 5, “when brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go into her, take her to himself as a wife and perform the duty of a husband to her. It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.” You see what the provision is here. The surviving brother takes his brother’s wife and has a son by her, makes provision in this way. Marries her and the first son born to this relationship is considered the son of his dead brother so that the inheritance stays with his brother. He’s considered his brother’s son so the land and so on remains in the dead man’s family. So that first son born. Now that could become a costly thing because now this brother has assumed responsibility. He has to support this sister-in-law, the child, out of his resources. He takes responsibility for the land and that responsibility, but it’s not his because it will pass to the son when he becomes old enough and be in his brother’s line, not his. That becomes an issue later in Ruth. Verse 7, “if a man does not desire,” still in Deuteronomy, “to take his brother’s wife then his brother’s wife shall go to the gate to the elders and say my husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel, he’s not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me. The elders of the city will summon him if he persists in that position, then she comes before him, spits in his face, they take off his sandal and he’s known as the house of him whose sandal is removed.” We’ll get to that in Ruth.

Come back to Ruth 2. That’s what we’re talking about, a kinsman here, someone who can intervene. Naomi is without any male descendants here. There’s no one to carry on the line and be able to take possession of property but here is a near kinsman. Isn’t it remarkable? It just wasn’t a kind, godly man that the Lord directed Ruth to his field. It was the exact man that could do what was necessary. Verse 20, the man is our relative, he’s one of our closest relatives. Then Ruth the Moabitess, continue to be reminded, Ruth the Moabitess said, furthermore he said to me, I haven’t told you everything yet. You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest. Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, it is good my daughter that you go out with his maids so that others do not fall upon you in another field. Do you see the situation Ruth was in? I mean we’re reading the story, we know the beginning and the end. We fail to appreciate Ruth had to go out, look for a field, Naomi is staying home because of her age. Neither one knew what the day held. Naomi knows what a dangerous situation it could be out there in the days of the judges. Ruth knew she was a foreigner, she doesn’t have a claim on anyone or anything here. She could expect the worst of treatment of anybody here. Who knows what will happen to her in the field? Who’s going to stick up for a Moabitess if she’s sexually assaulted? It’s good that you stay there, do what he said.

So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law. The wheat harvest will follow the barley harvest. Remember Boaz says don’t go to other fields, so when you’re done with the barley harvest stay here and glean my fields for the wheat harvest. Now you’ll note, God has made provision, He made daily provision, this provision will ultimately result in provision in the future. But Ruth and Naomi don’t know that at this point. So their difficulties aren’t resolved, it’s not now we go to bed and we know it’s resolved. All they know is God has made gracious provision for us, for today and tomorrow, the immediate future. Ruth is going to get up every day, you know what she’s going to do? She’s going to go out and do the hard work in the fields and come back and night with what she’s gleaned. She lives with her mother-in-law. That’s the provision that’s there for them both, these two widowed women.

All right let me summarize the lessons from this chapter and then we will wrap it up. I’ve noted at 6 lessons that I’ve observed. First, there are no accidents with God, chapter 2 verse 3. When it says she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz who was of the family of Elimelech, but we see in it the sovereign God at work. It’s all under His direction. So there are no accidents with God. We need to remember that—there are no accidents with God.

Second, our break with the world testifies to the reality of our faith. We talked about this in chapter 1, it’s repeated with its impact on Boaz in verse 11 of chapter 2. Our break with the world testifies to the reality of our faith. Ruth’s testimony was given in verses 16-17 of chapter 1. The reality of that commitment to the God of Israel has impacted Boaz and refers to that in verses 11-12 of chapter 2, that you would have left family and home, commit yourself to Naomi and to the God of Naomi impacted him.

Third, God is a refuge for those who trust in Him, verse 12. Under whose wings you have come to seek refuge. How much more clear should it be to us who have trusted the living God, that He is our refuge. It wasn’t clear in the human circumstances to Ruth, but she was perfectly safe, she was under the protection of God. He has everything under control. God is a refuge for those who trust in Him, and we just looked at some of those references in the Psalms.

Fourth, God often provides comfort and encouragement through others, verse 13. Ruth says you have comforted me, spoken kindly to me you maidservant. God often provides comfort and encouragement through others, and that’s a ministry we can have and be used of the Lord in that way. We’ve all experienced that blessing.

Fifth, godly humility does not expect others to show them favor, verse 13. Godly humility does not expect a return, doesn’t expect others to show favor. Sometimes get frustrated, I’ve been so humble but nobody is honoring me for it. Stop and think about that. I’ve been so humble and nobody has honored me for it, which really means what? I’ve been trying to act humble but I’ve been really proud, I really want to be exalted by people. That’s why I’ve been going through this charade of humility. And how I can recognize that is when I’m frustrated that people haven’t honored me is an indication you haven’t really been humble. It’s your pride that has driven you and now you’re frustrated because nobody is giving you honor, nobody has given you a return. You did that act of kindness to them but you didn’t do it just out of humility and glad for the opportunity to do something for them. You did it expecting a return. When you didn’t get the return you were upset about it. Godly humility does not expect others to show them favor.

Sixth, the physical protection of the believer is provided by God. And that’s true in verse 9, verse 12, verse 15, verse 16, verse 22. God makes provision for the protection of Ruth. Sends her to Boaz’ field, has Boaz act on her behalf to protect her. God uses the human situation, the human actors, but He is the one who is providing the protection.

So in chapter 1 we saw the hand of God bringing trials and difficulties into the lives of His children, great overwhelming, devastating tragedies brought by Shaddai, Almighty God. Chapter 2 we see the hand of God bringing comfort and encouragement, protection and blessing to His children. He doesn’t remove all the difficulties, all the problems haven’t gone away. But God is graciously making provision. One constant is that God is sovereign. He’s graciously working His plan for our good and His glory. So wherever we are in His plan, whatever is taking place in my life, I can be confident. He is God. That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said don’t worry about tomorrow, each day has enough trouble of its own. Look at the lilies of the field, they don’t work and toil and God provides for them. Look at the birds of the air, God provides for them. Relax and trust Him. That’s not the same as relax and do nothing. Ruth gets up and goes to the field, works all day and comes home. God doesn’t make provision apart from her commitment to faithfully do what she is to do. But in the doing of that then she has to leave it in God’s hands. But where better would we want our lives than in God’s hands, where would I want to be but under the shadow of His wing, under His protection, the object of His care. So whatever else is happening, that’s all right. I belong to Him and He cares for me.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your graciousness demonstrated in the account of Ruth, the way you worked in the situation of lives beset by tragedy. Lord, how easy it is to see when we’re privileged to read the end. But Lord it’s a reminder to us even though we haven’t seen the end in our own personal walk, in our own lives, you are still the Almighty. You are the one who cares for us, provides for us, protects us. You are the one in whom we are safe and secure, and it is in you that we find our complete provision for all of life and preparation for eternity. We praise you for it in Christ’s name. Amen.