Now, Naomi had a relative on her husband's side.
He was a prominent man of noble character from
a limalex family. His name was Boaz. Ruth the
Moabitess asked Naomi, Will you let me go into
the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone
with whom I find favor? Naomi answered her, Go
ahead, my daughter. So Ruth left and entered
the field to gather grain behind the harvesters.
She happened to be in the portion of the field
belonging to Boaz. who was from Elimelech's family.
Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said
to the harvesters, The Lord be with you. The
Lord bless you, they replied. Boaz asked his
servant, who was in charge of the harvesters,
Whose young woman is this? The servant answered,
She is the young Moabite woman who returned with
Naomi from the territory of Moab. She asked,
Will you let me gather fallen grain among the
bundles behind the harvesters? She came and has
been on her feet since early morning, except
that she rested a little in the shelter. Then
Boaz said to Ruth, Listen, my daughter, don't
go and gather grain in another field, and don't
leave this one, but stay here close to my female
servants. See which field they are harvesting
and follow them. Haven't I ordered the young
men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go
and drink from the jars the young men have filled.
She fell face down, bowed to the ground, and
said to him, Why have I found favor with you,
so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?
Boaz answered her, Everything you have done for
your mother -in -law since your husband's death
has been fully reported to me, how you left your
father and mother and your native land, and how
you came to a people you didn't previously know.
May the Lord reward you for what you have done,
and may you receive a full reward from the Lord
God of Israel, whose wings you have come for
refuge. My lord, she said, I have found favor
with you, for you have comforted and encouraged
your servant, although I am not like the one
of your female servants. At mealtime, Boaz told
her, Come over here and have some bread and dip
it in the vinegar sauce. So she sat beside the
harvesters and he offered her roasted grain.
She ate and was satisfied and had some left over.
When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered
his young men. Let her even gather grain among
the bundles, and don't humiliate her. Pull out
some stalks from the bundles for her and leave
them for her to gather. Don't rebuke her. So
Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening.
She beat out what she had gathered, and it was
about 26 quarts of barley. She picked up the
grain and went into the town, where her mother
-in -law saw what she had gleaned. She brought
out what she had left over from her meal and
gave it to her. Her mother -in -law said to her,
Where did you gather barley today? And where
did you work? May the Lord bless the man who
noticed you. Ruth told her mother -in -law, whom
she had worked with, and said, The name of the
man I worked with today is Boaz. Then Naomi said
to her daughter -in -law, May the Lord bless
him because he has not abandoned his kindness
to the living or the dead. Naomi continued, The
man is a close relative. He is one of our family
redeemers. Ruth the Moabitess said, He also told
me, Stay with my young men until they have finished
all of my harvest. So Naomi said to her daughter
-in -law Ruth, My daughter, it is good for you
to work with his female servants, so that nothing
will happen to you in another field. Ruth stayed
close to Boaz's female servants and gathered
grain until the barley and the wheat harvest
were finished, and she lived with her mother
-in -law. Well, we've been continuing in the
book of Ruth. And Ruth is a little bit unique
in that it's a narrative. And the author who
wrote the book of Ruth is really intentional
about how they continue the story. So last week,
we were in Ruth chapter 1. So I'm going to recap
that, and then we're going to pray before we
dive into the text. in Ruth chapter 2. So last
week we walked through famine, funerals, and
the fields of Moab. We met names loaded with
meaning. There was Elimelech, whose name meant
my god is king, even though he lived like he
was king of his life. There was Naomi, whose
name meant pleasant, and at the end of the story
she's like, call me bitter, call me Mara. There
was Malon and Kilion, whose names meant sickness,
and wasting. There was Ruth, whose name meant
friend, and more. But we watched this family,
this Israelite family, leave God's promised land.
And they went to the city from the city of Bethlehem,
which was the house of bread. And they left because
of famine, and they went to the land of Moab,
the place of compromise. And there, Naomi buried
her husband and her sons. And then Ruth, a Moabite
widow, made a stunning decision. She chose the
God of Israel. She chose the people of Israel.
She chose the land of promise. She chose to return
to God and nothing with Naomi. And Naomi returns
home and says, don't call me Naomi, call me Mara,
which means bitter or could actually even be
translated as rebellious. But still, Naomi believed
in the Lord. She interpreted the Lord through
her pain. She said, he oppressed and afflicted
me. And yet, at the very, very, very end of Ruth
chapter 1, it ends with this whisper of hope.
The author specifically, after this whole narrative
of everything that just happened to this family,
the death, the return to this land, the women
say, hey, is that? Is that Naomi? She's like,
uh -uh. Don't call me Naomi anymore. Call me
Mara. They come back, and the author ends with
this detail. They arrived in Bethlehem at the
start of the harvest. And we see this glimmer,
this whisper of hope in the midst of a dark time
for Naomi and for Ruth. And Ruth, the entire
book, is actually a whisper of hope in a really
dark time. This was set during the time of the
judges. And at the end of the book of Judges,
it says, and everyone did what was right in their
own eyes. And we see this ending of that book
where they're crying out for a king when God
was supposed to be their king. But they chose
to do what was right in their own eyes. So that's
where we're coming from. And now we come into
Ruth chapter 2. And we're going to dive into
that text together. But before we do that, let's
pray. Heavenly Father, you are good. We thank
you. We praise you that even in the midst of
famine, even in the midst of hardship, Lord,
we can still have hope in you. Lord, help us
to have eyes to see that. And as we look through
Ruth chapter 2 this morning, I just pray that
you would be at work in our hearts. in our minds.
Lord, draw out from your word what you would
have for us this morning. We pray this all in
Jesus' name. Amen. So, if you have your Bibles,
we're going to turn to Ruth chapter 2. If you
don't have a Bible, there are some back on those
response tables in the back with the black tablecloths.
Take that. Take it home with you. It's yours.
But we're going to be going verse through verse.
in Ruth chapter 2. And so as we come to this
chapter, we see this little bit of a transition.
There's this glimmer of hope, this whisper at
the end of Ruth 1. And now we come and we get
to start to see that in Ruth 2. And what was
amazing to me as I spent time preparing and really
just soaking in God's word this week, is that
God sovereignly works through ordinary faithfulness
to accomplish his covenant kindness. God sovereignly
works through ordinary faithfulness to accomplish
his covenant kindness. So as we work through
this narrative, I want to focus on three paintings
of the characters from our story. So a few weeks
ago, Carissa, my wife, and our kiddos, they went
to an art class, and they had to paint a picture.
And my three -year -old, Micaiah, was ready to
just like dive in, and he's like, when do I get
to paint the black? And so we're like, okay,
hold on, buddy. But there was a process that
they had to follow. And the person who was instructing
said, hey, first, we're going to take our pencils.
And we're going to put down this charcoal sketch.
And we're going to see these outlines. And then
we're going to come back after we have this outline
and we're going to start to fill in a little
bit more detail. And then we're going to start
to put color onto this. And then after we put
color onto it, now we're going to come back.
We're going to add more detail with the color,
with the pencil, and with all these different
tools. We're going to paint a picture together
this morning because there's three characters.
I'm going to introduce you to them now. Boaz,
Naomi, and Ruth. And we're going to look at their
pictures a little bit this morning. So we already
have some basic sketched outlines of two of these
characters from chapter one. We've got Naomi
and we've got Ruth. And so if we were just putting
down those kind of initial lines of the sketch,
Naomi is a widow who lost everything and everyone
that might protect and provide for her. But she's
a woman whose daughter -in -law wants to follow
her anyway. And with a love for God that was
an example to Ruth so that she chose God and
not the gods of her homeland in Moab. At the
end of Ruth chapter 1, we see Naomi's returning
to Bethlehem with Ruth. She is leaving Moab and
coming back to God's promised land. And the women
in the town in Bethlehem, they say, is this Naomi?
And Naomi says, no. Call me Mara. Bitter, rebellious,
but she still recognizes the Lord. She knows
he's real, but she's struggling with what he's
allowed, how he's opposed and afflicted her.
Those were her words. She's also pretty open.
She's honest. She's vocal about it. But she has
returned to God's promised land, though she hasn't
returned with hope. So that's that rough sketch,
that rough outline that we have of Naomi. Then
we have Ruth. Ruth was a foreign widow. She was
from the land of Moab. Her husband died. But
she's faithful to the Lord. When they're on the
road, they're coming back to Bethlehem in chapter
1, and Naomi says, hey, you should go back to
her two daughter -in -laws. You should go back
to Moab. Because there's no chance I'm going
to have another kid for you to marry. And even
if I did right now, what, are you going to wait
for him to grow up? Like, no. Go back to where
there's a chance for you in Moab. Because if
you come to Israel, You're Moabite women and
widows. There's no hope for you here. Orpah argues
for a while and says, no, no, no. But she goes
back. But Ruth, Ruth says, no. I choose God.
I choose the God of Israel. I choose your God.
He will be my God. Your people will be my people.
So Ruth doesn't just follow Naomi because Naomi
was this fantastic mother -in -law. Seems like
maybe there was something there, right? But Ruth
chooses God. She leaves her homeland and comes
to God's promised land of Israel for Israel with
Naomi as a foreigner. Not just a foreigner, but
actually a foreigner that the people of Israel
particularly didn't like. And she seeks God.
And she's learning, or she's already been learning,
about his words and his laws. And we're going
to see that because she knows what to do at the
start of chapter two. So we have this really
kind of outlined sketch. There's a tiny bit of
detail in these pictures, these portraits of
Ruth and Naomi. And right when we get into chapter
two, the author introduces us to our next character,
Boaz. So Ruth chapter two, verse one. It says,
now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side.
He was a prominent man of noble character from
a limalex family. His name was Boaz. Now, I find
this interesting because the author tells us
about Boaz, but Ruth and Naomi don't really know
about him yet. And so the author is doing this
intentionally, I believe, but... Let's see what's
the rough sketch we get from just this one, this
first verse about this guy Boaz. He was a prominent
man of noble character. So the Hebrew word there,
Gebor Chael, actually meant like wealthy, well
thought of. He was a man of standing. So this
guy is pretty well off. He's a relative of Elimelech,
which if... We read this, we're like, oh yeah,
cool, fantastic. If you were an Israelite that
read this, you're reading this, you're like,
oh, he could be a redeemer. We don't get that,
right, in our culture, but the Israelites reading
this, when they would work through it, are like,
oh man, that author just slipped up big time
and told us a big detail. But Ruth and Naomi
don't know about this. We also see the implication
that Boaz stayed in Israel during the same famine
where Elimelech and his family chose to leave.
Boaz said, you know what? I'm going to trust
God, even in the face of the famine, and I'm
going to stay here. And then it's also implied
that the Lord blessed him. we see this rough
sketch, but I believe the author brings this
picture of Boaz up the very start of the chapter
before we get into any other part of the story,
because he could have just as easily introduced
him later. I think it's intentional. See, before
Ruth does anything, before Naomi has any hope,
before any conversation even happens, Boaz exists.
God's covenant kindness, his chesed, we introduced
that word last week. It's this word that we can't
really quite translate into English, but it's
this covenantal loving kindness is already positioned.
And so we get to see that before Ruth and Naomi
realize it. And the readers in Israel who would
have read this would have said, there is a chance.
So as we continue, we're going to fill out a
little bit more on our paintings. Because as
this narrative unfolds, the author does such
an amazing job of layering in this detail. So
verses 2 and 3, Ruth chapter 2, verses 2 and
3. Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, will you let
me go into the fields and gather fallen grain
behind someone with whom I may find favor? Naomi
answered her, go ahead, my daughter. So Ruth
left and entered the field to gather grain behind
the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion
of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from
Elimelech's family. So what's interesting here,
right off the bat, we get a little reminder about
Ruth. And we're going to see this reminder time
and time and time again in these first chapters.
She is a Moabite. Which means she's not of God's
people, but what's really interesting here is
she knows about this practice of gleaning. And
if we read that and don't have any context, we
say, okay, whatever. Well, this was actually
a law that God had set for his people in Israel,
where he told those who had land, who were farmers,
who had people who were farming for them, hey,
you know what? When you go out and you harvest,
don't take everything. Leave the corners of your
fields. And if you drop things in the field,
don't pick them back up. And if you happen to
forget an entire sheaf of wheat out there, you
can't go back for it because I will give that
to the sojourners, the foreigners, to the fatherless,
the orphans, and to the widows. And this was
something that God told his people to do in the
land. And if you are interested about more, you
can see a little bit about that in Deuteronomy
chapter 24, verse 19. But what's really interesting
is Ruth knows this. She's not an Israelite, so
either she has been dedicating herself to learning
God's laws, or maybe Naomi told her, or she heard
about it. Whatever it is, Ruth says, you know
what? Can I do this? And she takes a step in
act of obedience. See, she trusts the law that
God put forward for the sojourner, the fatherless,
and the widow, and that it would provide, and
that she would need to walk in faith. She would
need to glean in faith, and so she goes out.
And then it's really interesting because it says
she happened to be in the portion of the field
that belongs to Boaz, who happened to be from
a Limelech's family. So, I kind of laughed as
I read this. I just feel like the author's like,
and it just so happened, wink, wink, that she
ended up in this field. It just happened. That's
how the narrator says it. But there's no such
thing as just happened with God. Last week, we
talked about God's providence. And when we unpacked
God's providence, we said it's his sovereignty
and his kindness, his loving kindness. See, the
narrator says it just happened, but really it's
the providence of God. It's not coincidence.
Providence. I came across an interesting definition
of the providence of God, which was natural means
in a natural world. accomplishing God's sovereign
purposes. See, Ruth chooses to walk in ordinary
obedience. She knew about this law for provision,
and she says, I'm going to do that. I'm going
to step out actively, faithfully, and I'm going
to do that. But then God directs the field that
she lands in. Pretty cool. So this painting of
Ruth, we're adding in these splashes of color
of a woman who, though she's a foreigner, she's
saying, I want to know more about God. And I
want to step out and allow him to provide for
me. And so she goes and she gleans. Now, let's
set aside the painting of Ruth for a minute.
Let's pick up the picture and painting of Boaz.
So, Verse 4 says this. Later, when Boaz arrived
from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, The
Lord be with you. The Lord bless you, they replied.
So, one verse. I'm going to pause there. It's
so interesting to me that the very first words
that are recorded that Boaz says are about the
Lord. The Lord be with you. Now, remember the
time period we're in here. This is the time of
the judges where there's this constant cycle
of the people of Israel living in sin. God submitting
them over to the judgment. The people cry back
out to the Lord. The Lord sends someone to rescue
them. He sends a judge. The people say, we will
follow the Lord. And then the next generation,
they're like, eh, not really. And it was this
constant cycle. We don't know exactly whether
the book of Ruth is set in one of the times when
they may have been kind of back walking with
the Lord. There's some indication, if you track
back genealogies, that this probably was a time
when they weren't. But we don't know that for
sure. But it's interesting to me. That what we
learn about, what the author intentionally tells
us about Boaz, is the first thing out of his
mouth is about the Lord. He's speaking a covenant
blessing over the people in his field. In the
time when everyone did what was right in his
own eyes, violence, idolatry, moral chaos, but
here, a man whose first words in the narrative
are covenant blessing. The response of his servants,
the Lord bless you. Now, yes, that was kind of
a common phrase and greeting that would be used
back and forth. But what I see is a man whose
mind was set on the Lord and whose servants also
call on the name of the Lord because of his example.
Now, contrast that with Elimelech. who chose
to go to Moab for provision. And now we have
this man, Boaz, who chose to stay in Israel for
his provision. Now, as we continue, we're going
to look at verses 5 through 9. So Ruth chapter
2, verses 5 through 9. Boaz asked his servant
who was in charge of the harvesters, whose young
woman is this? The servant answered, she is the
young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from
the territory of Moab. She asked, will you let
me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind
the harvesters? She came and has been on her
feet since early morning, except that she rested
a little in the shelter. And then Boaz said to
Ruth, listen, my daughter, don't go and gather
grain in any... And don't leave this one, but
stay here close to my female servants. See which
field they are harvesting and follow them. Haven't
I ordered the young men not to touch you? When
you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the
young men have filled. Boaz notices Ruth. He
notices someone new in his field, and he goes
and he talks, but... But through this, I see
that Boaz trusted God rather than giving into
the temptation of harvesting his field entirely.
Because you know why? There was something to
glean in his field. Ruth comes and his was a
field that she could glean in. It wasn't picked
bare. In this time with everybody doing what
was right in their own eyes. pretty likely that
there were a lot of fields where the people didn't
obey God's law of leaving something to glean.
But Ruth notices, hey, there's a field I can
glean in, and she goes. So we see that Boaz is
faithful in that he trusts God more than his
own work and plans, where this wasn't commonly
the norm in this season. So Boaz then recognizes
this foreigner, And without any benefit for himself,
but for a family connection and duty, he provides
protection. So when he sees her, I've heard this
read and taught like, oh, it was this beautiful
romantic scene. It was sunset and the barley
fields were rustling. And Boaz comes out and
he looks and he sees this beautiful woman. And
he says, I need to know who she is. No. Actually,
no. Gleaning was not glamorous work. Okay? This
is not this like little romantic book meet cute
that's going on. Boaz is actually in tune enough.
with the people who work under him, that he notices,
hey, who's that really dusty, sweaty, like bent
over in the dirt foreigner gleaning over there?
He cares about who's in his field. So this isn't
this. Scripture actually tells us nothing about
what Ruth looked like, about her beauty. You
know, you can take that for what it is, but I
don't see any indication that it's this beautiful
romantic scene. We just see a man who's faithful,
and he goes to the person who's in charge of
all the servants, and he's like, hey, what's
going on? New person over there. And what's really
interesting is that Boaz sees and notices her
faithfulness. Not only does Boaz notice that,
but also the person who was in charge of the
people harvesting. Ruth made some form of impact
on him. He mentions one of the first things is,
hey, well, you know, first he's like, by the
way, that's that Moabite woman. But she actually
came and asked me if she could glean here. We'll
talk about why that's interesting in a minute.
But Ruth is there, and Boaz, without... really
any benefit to himself. He happens to know that,
yes, this is the widow who came back with Naomi.
So there was some cultural level of wanting to
try to make sure he could help and provide as
a part of Elimelech's family. But he offers protection.
He also tells her to drink from the water jars
that the men filled. Culturally, a Moabite woman
drinking from the same jars as Israelite workers
would actually have raised a couple of eyebrows,
could have potentially actually made things unclean.
But what's interesting is Boaz treats her not
as an outsider to be managed, but as somebody
to be welcomed near. So we're going to set aside
that portrait of Boaz for a minute, this guy
who notices who's in his field, who is faithful.
who cares about this woman, not because she's
some really attractive woman in his field, but
because he sees faithfulness. Let's set aside
that picture of Boaz for a minute, and let's
fill in a little bit more on this picture of
Ruth. Not the, like, sweaty, dirty, unkempt,
dusty one that I just painted, the one we've
been talking about before about her character.
So, just to step back to verse 6 and 7 again,
I think it's really interesting that the servant
answered, she's the young Moabite woman who returned
with Naomi from the territory of Moab. She asked,
will you let me gather fallen grain among the
bundles behind the harvesters? She came and has
been on her feet since early morning, except
that she rested a little in the shelter. I mentioned
we're going to come back to this because First,
he does call attention that Ruth's a Moabite
woman. So last week, Caleb mentioned a little
bit about the Moab being on the short list for
the people of Israel that they're not supposed
to really have any association with. See, Moab,
the country of Moab, was the descendants of an
incestual relationship between Lot and one of
his daughters. And a little more color, because
that's already like, oof. That's not so great.
A little more color. In Numbers chapter 25, the
Moabite women actually led Israel into sexual
immorality and idolatry, enticed them into it.
And as a result, 24 ,000 Israelites were struck
dead. by a plague from the Lord, and God told
Moses to go and systematically kill the leaders
of the people of Israel who were either actively
participating or passively standing by to let
this happen. That is the people that Ruth comes
from. They were not supposed to be in the assembly
of the Lord all the way to the 10th generation,
which didn't just mean 10 generations and then,
yep, Moab's good. No, that was a way of saying
like, no, no Moab anyway. But Ruth is different.
So he's saying, it's that Moabite woman, but
then the servant recounts her words and what
was probably a bit of surprise. See, under God's
law, Ruth actually legally had the right to come
glean in the field. She didn't need to ask. Under
God's law, her legal right was to come, to follow
along, to be able to pick up what was dropped
and left as a way of provision. But first she
comes and she asks permission. She seeks to honor
God and her life is an example. Her hard work's
noticed. The servant is like, yeah, she's been
gleaning since early morning. She's taken like
one little break, but she's still at it. Her
loyalty, her work ethic, and her trust in the
provision of God through his law is visible.
She chooses God's way. So you guys, it was rough
for her as a Moabite widow. Naomi tried to convince
her, hey, go back. It's not going to be super
nice here. Ruth came and she could have sought
provision in other ways. She could have pursued
survival through manipulation or seduction. Instead,
she chooses to trust the Lord and she chooses
to glean, which was real hard work for basically
just enough wages in food to try and extend your
life a little further out. Gleaning was not this
abundance. Typically, if you were gleaning, you
maybe might get enough to carry you food -wise
to like the next day, maybe one more as a general
rule. And this is what Ruth chooses to do because
she chooses to trust the Lord. And then in verse
10, It tells us, she fell face down, bowed to
the ground, and said to him, why have I found
favor with you so that you notice me, although
I am a foreigner? She honors Boaz. That fell
face down, it's not just because she was like,
oh, she was like actually giving honor. She's
saying, what is going on? Another way of translating
favor there is acceptance. Why have I found acceptance?
She knows who she is. She knows she's a Moabite
widow. Why have I found acceptance that you notice
me even though I'm a foreigner? Keep in mind
at this point, Ruth doesn't know that Boaz is
a relative. She doesn't actually, from all indication
from Scripture, know that this is part of a limilex
family. She just faithfully set her head, went
out to glean, and she just happened. to be in
Boaz's field because of God's providence. So
she doesn't know Boaz is a family redeemer. She
just sees that there's something different, something
honorable. And then verses 11 through 13, we're
still painting this picture of Ruth. Boaz answered
her, everything you have done for your mother
-in -law since your husband's death has been
fully reported to me. how you left your father
and mother in your native land, how you came
to a people you didn't previously know. May the
Lord reward you for what you have done, and may
you receive a full reward from the Lord God of
Israel under whose wings you have come for refuge.
My Lord, she said, I have found favor with you.
you have comforted and encouraged your servant,
although I am not like one of your female servants.
See, what I find so interesting as we paint this
picture of Ruth is people know what she's done.
She is living a life that it is an example to
the others around her. And one that for some
of the Israelites was probably a little bit of
like a kick in the pants. in this season, or
maybe it wasn't, maybe they just didn't care.
But here's this Moabite woman who is choosing
to follow and to honor God. And regardless of
what the people thought, they noticed. They're
like, yeah, that's the lady who's been taking
care of Naomi. Bitter Naomi? Yeah, like she's
still sticking with her and helping. And so people
noticed. And Boaz then speaks blessing over Ruth.
That piece where it says, under God's wings,
there's a bit of a parallel, and I want to read
Matthew chapter 23, verse 37. And this is when
Jesus is lamenting over Jerusalem, when the religious
hypocrites are being denounced. This is right
before the destruction of the temple is predicted.
So Matthew chapter 23 verse 37, Jesus says, Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to her. How often I wanted
to gather your children together as a hen gathers
her chicks under her wings, but you were not
willing. This imagery of gathering someone under
their wings. Boaz, back in Ruth chapter 2, when
he's speaking this blessing, he says, may you
receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel
under whose wings you have come for refuge. See,
the significance of under his wings, that could
also actually be translated to under the corner
of his robe. But regardless of whether it's a
wing or your clothing, it requires first a decision
to be close to God, and then second, to make
that the place that you find hope and rest, to
make that where you abide. And Boaz is saying,
you have made God your resting place. You have
come under his wings and you've come there for
refuge. Jesus was lamenting for his people that
they have not done that. And what's so cool is
Ruth has chosen that here. So we're going to
continue in our text at verse 14, but we're going
to pick up both pictures of Ruth and of Boaz
for a couple of minutes. And we're going to be
layering in more color here. So Ruth chapter
2, verses 14 through 18. At mealtime, Boaz told
her, come over here and have some bread and dip
it in the vinegar sauce. So she sat beside the
harvesters and he offered her roasted grain.
She ate and was satisfied and had some left over.
When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered
his young men, let her even gather grain among
the bundles and don't humiliate her. Pull out
some stalks from the bundles for her and leave
them for her to gather. Don't rebuke her. So
Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening.
She beat out what she had gathered. It was about
26 quarts of barley. She picked up the grain
and went into town where her mother -in -law
saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what
she had left over from her meal and gave it to
her. So we're going to pick up both these portraits
of Ruth and of Boaz. We see here that Boaz is
seeing this picture of Ruth a little bit. Her
character, her love for Naomi, her active obedience
of the Lord. And so he offers protection and
provision. He invites her to the table. He feeds
her until she is satisfied and allows her to
take from his table for another. And then he
goes above and beyond God's law. in the gleaning
and is saying to his people, actually, like,
leave some for her. I've invited her among the
sheaves. The people were supposed to come behind
that and glean what was dropped. And he's saying,
like, hey, anything that's there, let her in
and don't make fun of her. Boaz is offering protection
and provision. And for her to come and eat at
his table until she was satisfied, I found a
really interesting parallel because at the end
of chapter one, Naomi says, I'm empty. In the
middle of chapter two, Ruth is leaving full and
satisfied. But I saw, as I was thinking through
this, such a beautiful parallel in the Lord's
table. See, God provided his son, Jesus Christ,
for us. His body was broken for us. His blood
was shed for us. We were provided for and brought
under his wing. And something that I was convicted
about as I thought through this was, do I experience
satisfaction and fullness in the presence of
the Lord when I come to his table? Ruth here
was with the Lord of the field. and remained
at his table and ate until she was satisfied.
Note, Scripture doesn't tell us how long that
was. She was working hard. My six -year -old
can put down a lot of food. I can't imagine what
a really, really hungry person who had not had
a lot of food for a long time, how long it took
to be satisfied. But regardless, she remains
at the Lord of the Fields table in his presence
until she's satisfied. And the question I asked
myself was, do I remain with the Lord? Do I eat
of what he provides until I'm full? Or do I rush
off after a bite of devotions and just pursue
my own way? That's what I was convicted about
this week, guys. But back to our text. Boaz commands
his men in verses 15 to 16 to go above and beyond
compliance with the law. He says, pull out some
of the stock from the bundle and leave them for
her to gather. Again, not just compliance, but
this chesed, this loving kindness. He goes beyond
the minimum without really any benefit to him.
Guys, there's nothing that indicates that he
did this with strings attached. He wasn't hoping
to win her to his bed with roasted grain and
bread dipped in vinegar. He does this because
he honors God. And then Ruth brings back... And
we see 26 quarts here. This was probably somewhere
in the ballpark of 30 to 50 pounds of already
threshed, ready -to -go barley from a day's gleaning.
That was unheard of. And she also brings back
food that's already cooked that she saved for
Naomi. Yeah, that's right. Ruth brought back
a doggy bag from Boaz's table for Naomi. Also,
little aside, Naomi, super bitter, you know.
I don't know if I would have the same character
as Ruth for like a super bitter mother -in -law
that would be like, oh yeah, I'm going to save
some of these leftovers of food. I'm so hungry.
I ate until I was satisfied. I'm going to remember
to bring it back to her. But Ruth thinks about
that. Ruth cared and loved for Naomi even as
another provided for her. She thought of Naomi.
What's more, Ruth did so for that bitter woman.
Now, we're going to set down those pictures of
Ruth. And of Boaz, we haven't picked up this
picture of Naomi all the way since the beginning
of the story when we talked about what was loosely
sketched there. Verses 19 through 23. Ruth chapter
2, 19. Her mother -in -law said to her, where
did you gather the barley today and where did
you work? May the Lord bless the man who noticed
you. Ruth told her mother -in -law. whom she
had worked with, and said, The name of the man
I worked with today was Boaz. Then Naomi said
to her daughter -in -law, May the Lord bless
him, because he has not abandoned his kindness
to the living or the dead. Naomi continued, The
man is a close relative. He is one of our family
redeemers. Ruth the Moabitess said, he also told
me to stay with my young men until they have
finished all of my harvest. So Naomi told her
daughter -in -law, Ruth, my daughter, it is good
for you to work with his female servants so that
nothing will happen to you in another field.
Ruth stayed close to Boaz's female servants and
gathered grain until the barley and the wheat
harvest were finished and she lived with her
mother -in -law. Guys, this is Naomi. Naomi who
believed in God but was struggling. Naomi who
was bitter. Who recognized her bitter and her
rebellious heart. She owned it. Who blamed the
Lord for oppressing and afflicting her. And she
sees God's amazing provision. A month's worth
of food in a single day of gleaning. The woman
who is bitter sees God's providential provision.
And before she knows anything else, before she
knows any redemption option, before she knows
where Ruth got this, she says, may the Lord bless
the man who noticed you. That word noticed in
Hebrew carries a bit more. Doesn't just mean
like looked up and happened to see you. That
word means who discerned, recognized, and paid
regard to. Naomi says, the man who noticed that
which God is doing in you. Naomi tells her, this
could only be a work of the Lord. May the Lord
bless this man. And then Ruth tells her, Naomi's
like, who was it? Ruth goes, oh yeah, this old
dude Boaz. Okay, she doesn't say that, but we'll
learn more about Boaz later that might make that
make a little more sense. But Naomi, bitter Mara,
rebellious Mara, says, may the Lord bless him
because he is not forgotten. Chesed is actually
the way that translates. His covenant loving
kindness. Naomi, who said, the Lord has afflicted
and oppressed me, now recognizes God has not
abandoned his covenant love. Her theology is
being reformed by God's providence. Where do
you feel this text most personally right now?
Are you Naomi, believing but bitter? Are you
Ruth, walking in obedience but not yet seeing
the outcome? Are you trying to be Boaz, be faithful
in the midst of darkness? Or are you simply trying
to trust God's providence in something that you
cannot yet see? Verse 22. It says, so Naomi said
to her daughter -in -law Ruth, my daughter, it
is good for you to work with his female servants
so that nothing will happen to you in another
field. First glance, this might just seem like
Naomi is saying, you know, hey, there's some
food, some protection. You should stay with that.
But really, the wisdom that Naomi is imparting
to Ruth is stay close. To the Lord. Stay in the
place where he has providentially provided for
you. Don't look for provision in other places.
Stay where the Lord is working. Don't be tempted
to look for your provision in other fields based
off your own powers of observation. A lesson
she learned firsthand from that exact thing with...
Her family's move from Israel to Moab. She says,
stay there. Stay near your Redeemer. Do not wander.
Guys, as we finish chapter two, that's it. That's
the end of where chapter two brings us. Redemption
hasn't happened yet, but we see this next whisper
of hope, slightly more than a whisper, that there
may be something coming. See, redemption hasn't
happened yet, but it's unfolding. Nothing else
really happens apart from Ruth continues faithfully
in obedience. And she goes and she continues
to glean. But there's more to come. In chapter
3. So I guess you need to come back next week
for that. So, as we close, I want to revisit
those portraits we talked about at the beginning.
See, we're a bit beyond these rough, sketched
outlines now. There's a little bit of color.
There's some more detail. In Naomi, we see a
life -worn face. Lines from carrying the weight
of bitterness of a hard life. some sunkenness
from hunger, but with eyes that though they have
seen a hard life still have a softness and light
in them because they see what God is doing and
that he does remain faithful even in the face
of our bitterness. In the portrait of Ruth, we
see just the glimpse of hardship and hunger,
the tint of color from hard work in the sun,
but with vibrancy. and assurance that comes from
her trust in the Lord. The beginning of upturned
lips in knowing and a knowing smile of God's
blessed providence and determination to remain
close to him. In Boaz, we see the joyful face
and laugh lines of a man who's lived many years,
but through all those years, whose mind is set
on the Lord. His eyes twinkle with compassion.
and with kindness. Guys, the real main character
here, the one sovereignly working through every
single scene, is God. See, God sovereignly works
through ordinary faithfulness to accomplish his
covenant kindness. There is a redeemer introduced
in the story of Ruth. But there's an even greater
redeemer introduced in the story of God. And
that's Jesus Christ. See, Boaz is not Jesus,
but he anticipates. Boaz provides grain. Jesus
provides himself. Boaz protects temporarily.
Jesus redeems eternally. Ruth chapter 2 ends
with provision. Not with redemption. Not with
marriage. We have hope. but we don't have completion.
But guys, we live where redemption is complete.
We do not strive toward covenant kindness. In
Christ Jesus, we live from it. His covenant sovereign
kindness for us. So, which portrait do you see
yourself in? Bitter, wishing for relief, wondering
why the Lord has afflicted and oppressed you?
Obedient, but uncertain? Yearning for provision
and favor? Do you long to be faithful for your
mind to be set on the Lord? In all of that, no
matter where you are, come under the wings of
Jesus. Come to his table, eat until you are satisfied
because his covenant kindness has not failed.
Guys, we're going to move towards a time of response.
We're going to respond in singing, respond in
remembering the Lord's table through communion,
and we're going to respond in giving. I'd like
to invite the music team up. And on the response
tables in the back, those tables with the black
tablecloths, You'll see there's some wooden offering
boxes. And if you say, hey, Radiant is my church,
we respond by giving our gifts and offerings
in active obedience, trusting that the Lord will
provide for us as we give. And don't hold so
tightly onto our things, to the corners of our
fields, but we trust in his provision and blessings.
We're going to respond in the singing of three
songs of praise to the Lord. And as we do that,
at any point during that time, if you know the
Lord as your savior, as your redeemer, take your
family, go with your GC, walk up with some other
brothers and sisters in Christ, and together
take the bread, which represents his body that
was broken for us. Take the juice that represents
his blood that was shed for us. Guys, Jesus is
our redeemer. Ask. for fullness in him as you
remember the fullness of work that he has done
for us. And if you don't know the Lord as your
redeemer, don't come to the table yet. First,
meet him. He invites you to come under his wings,
to come close to him, to allow him to be your
protection, to be your savior. He sent his only
son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross from your
sins, to be raised for dead. and to intercede
for you, the right hand of God. Let's pray. Lord,
you are good. Thank you for showing us how you
work. Lord, thank you for your providence, your
sovereignty, your kindness. Lord, thank you that
we were able to see examples of that in Ruth.
Lord, I pray that you would help us to see examples
of that throughout this week. Lord, for those
who are hurting, for those who are bitter, I
pray that you would give them the ability to
trust in you in a way that maybe they've been
struggling with. That, Lord, you would bring
people across their paths that would point them
to you. And that, Lord, they would see you work
in amazing ways in their hearts and lives. Lord,
for those who desire to remain faithful, to be
a light in the midst of darkness, to be radiant
reflections of you, I pray for boldness. Lord,
thank you that you do work sovereignly, that
you're loving, kindness is good. We thank you.
We praise you. We pray this all in Jesus' name.