A New Beginning

A New Beginning

Ruth 2:1-3

One of the greatest blessings of having a relationship with God is the change that takes place in your life the moment you are saved. It is like starting over with a clean slate. It is like beginning again and having a new lease on life. You are forgiven and free and it changes everything. It changes your entire perspective of life.

Unfortunately, many of us must hit rock bottom before we begin to reach out to God. But that is just the way it is. Sometimes there are lessons we must learn and testimonies He wants us to have.

I used to think that if I would have given my life to Christ sooner, I could have saved myself a lot of heartache and suffering. But I have come to realize I came to God in His perfect timing and according to His perfect plan. And He was working out the details of my life long before I ever knew Him.

That’s what we see in this story. God is at work behind the scenes, and He is working out the details in the life of Ruth and Boaz.

And if we are willing to seek Him, He will lead and guide our life as well. What we learn from this story is we serve a God who provides a new beginning for those who belong to Him. (Read)

1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

2 And 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 she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. [1] (pray)

In our passage this morning we have come to a new beginning in the lives of Ruth and Naomi. Although they are not aware of it yet. They are not aware that God is at work in their lives.

They are poverty stricken. They are at the bottom of the barrel with nowhere to go but up. They have come to Bethlehem, where there are no jobs or welfare programs for the poor.

But they have come in God’s perfect timing, and they are getting ready to find grace at the bottom of the barrel. Sometimes the best place we can be in life is where all we can do is lean on God and trust Him to provide. That is where Ruth and Naomi find themselves in our story. All they have is each other, and Naomi is in a terrible state of mind.

If you remember Naomi is a picture of a Christian with a bitter heart who has turned away from God. And every decision she makes is clouded by her bitterness. She has rejected God and she tried to reject her daughter-in-law, But Ruth refuses to give up. She was determined to go with Naomi. She has followed her back to God and back to God’s people.

Now, for the first time, we are introduced to a man named Boaz, who is related to Naomi’s husband. He will play a key role in the grace of God in the life of Ruth and Naomi. He is clearly a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today as we walk through these verses, we learn that we serve a God who provides a New Beginning to those who belong to Him.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is the Profile of Boaz, Vs. 1. Here the author takes over and slows down the narrative because he wants to introduce us to Boaz. (notice who is speaking in the vs.). It’s not the characters in the story but the author.

He does this for two reasons. 1. Because Boaz is going to play a key role in this story. Up until this point this story has been about two women, Naomi and Ruth who have suffered the loss of their husbands and now they are poor and helpless, living in a male dominated society. Living during the time of the Judges. (a dangerous time, especially for women.)

Think of what this story is missing. This story is missing strong men. Someone who will step up to the plate and look out for these women. All the men in this story have died, and now God is going to provide a strong man, a provider in Boaz, and that is just what Ruth and Naomi need.

2. The author wants us to understand that Ruth and Naomi are completely unaware of Boaz. We learn later that Naomi knows Boaz but, in her bitterness and depression she has forgotten about him. What the author is doing is introducing us to the secret will of God.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us.” This teaches us that there are things God knows and is doing in our life we are not aware of.

God already has a plan in the works for saving Ruth and Naomi. But His plan is even bigger than just providing them with food to eat. But it will be through Ruth and Boaz that God will lay the foundation for the salvation of the world. Because it will be through there son that Jesus Christ will be born. However, they don’t even know each other yet.

I want you to know God has a plan for your life. The secret will of God is at work in your life and He is doing things you are not aware of yet. God has a purpose for what you are going through, and He is working all things out for your good.

So, for the first time, we are briefly introduced to Boaz, and we are given enough information about him to know he is exactly what Ruth and Naomi need.

First, notice Boaz was a relative. Look at Vs. 1 says, Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband. So, Boaz was related to Elimelech, Naomi’s husband who passed away, and that is going to be a great benefit to their lives. That means he is qualified to be their kinsmen redeemer.

The law of Moses stated that the closest living relative, not only had the right, but the duty to redeem a male relative’s wife to bring up sons for the deceased. And Boaz can do that because he is related. He can redeem Ruth and Naomi from a life of devastation. He can offer them hope of a future, and the blessings of God. He is qualified to be the kinsmen redeemer.

Notice Boaz had resources. Vs. 1 says, “A man of great wealth.” This was important because a kinsmen redeemer had to have the resources to perform his duties. What good would it be to have a kinsmen redeemer who is as poor as you are. They not only had to be willing, but they had to be able. And Boaz was able. He could purchase the debt they owed. He was able to deliver them and offer her a new life.

This word “wealth,” in the Hebrew is the word “ha-yill.” And it can mean a lot of different things depending on the context it is used. It can mean he had money. We know Boaz had money because he is a landowner with servants working for him. But this word can also mean he had strength and honor. If you were talking about a soldier, it would mean he was a warrior, a mighty man of valor.

So, it tells us a lot about Boaz. It tells us he was a strong man. In fact, his name means son of strength. He was someone people relied on, and trusted, someone who had proven himself to be brave and strong.

And certainly, that is exactly what Ruth and Naomi needed. He was the right man for the job. They needed someone with the resources and the strength to redeem them from the pitiful state they were in.

I can’t help but think about how this is a description of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the strong man. A mighty warrior of God, who endured the cross and rose from the grave. He conquered hell and death and declared victory over sin. He is our kinsmen redeemer, who has the resources to save us.

He is the only one who has what it takes to purchase our redemption, Because He is the only one who lived a sinless life and possessed the righteousness God required to go to the cross. He is the only one who could offer us forgiveness and grace. Salvation is a gift from God, but it didn’t come cheap, there was a price to be paid. There was a cross to bear, and Jesus was the only one capable of paying that price.

So, we learn that Boaz was a man of reputation. He had a name that preceded him. He is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no one like Him, He is the author and finisher of our faith, who has a name that is above all names.

Philippians 2:9-11 says, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [2]

We serve a God who provides a New Beginning to those who belong to Him. The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the Persistence of Ruth, Vs. 2.

Ruth was a woman not only committed to the Lord, but she was committed to survival, and she was willing to do whatever she had to do to provide for her and Naomi. Vs. 2 says, “And 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 she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

It is important we understand that this took courage. Not only was Ruth a foreigner living in a foreign land, but she was a woman living in a male dominated society.

Now, we don’t know why Naomi didn’t go with her. Certainly, two women would have been better than one. We believe Naomi was a woman around 50 years old. Perhaps she was still living in her bitterness and depression. But she sends Ruth away with three words, “Go, my daughter.”

Not only did Ruth have courage to go, but she had the strength to work. Notice what she is going to do. She is going “to the field to glean among the ears of grain.” This word glean is not a word we are familiar with. This is not a glamorous word. To glean is to go and pick up the leftovers. Essentially this is to follow behind the harvesters and pick up the scraps. This was hard work and speaks to how poor she was. She was a beggar.

This is the equivalent of someone spending all day digging through the trash in search of cans and bottles. They can work hard all day and only have enough to turn in to get some pocket change.

The good news for Ruth and Naomi is, God had made a provision in the law of Moses for poor people. God said, a farmer was never to harvest his field or vineyard a second time. What the farmer missed was left for the poor.

Lev. 19:9-10, says, “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.” [3]

God did this to provide for people like Ruth and Naomi, people who couldn’t provide for themselves. Now, we don’t know if Ruth was aware of this law or not, but we do know she had incredible courage and strength to do it. Because not everyone acted according to the law.

Ruth could expect to be treated poorly because she was a foreigner. She could expect to be chased from every field she came to. It was possible for her to be physically abused, raped, and beaten. Yet, Ruth takes the initiative because she is hungry. She and Naomi will starve if she doesn’t do something.

Notice she is seeking grace. She is looking for “One in whose sight I may find favor.” This word favor is the word grace. It is the same word that is used to describe Noah before God called him to build the ark. We are told in Genesis 6:8, “Noah found grace in the eyes of God.” Well, Ruth is looking for grace. She is hungry and she realizes if she is going to be fed, she is going to have to find it in the fields of Grace.

Many people today are hungry for something, and they don’t even know where to look. They are searching for satisfaction from the world, and they will never find it because the things of the world cannot satisfy the soul.

If you are hungry for something spiritual, you need to seek satisfaction in the fields of God’s grace. The Bible says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Seek Him while He may be found. We do that by spending time in the house of the Lord, in fellowship with God’s people and in His Word.

Ruth was tired of being disappointment by the world. She wanted to be filled with what only God could do for her, and she was committed to finding it. Jerimiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” That is what Ruth was doing. She knew God was the only one who could provide for her.

Do you ever wonder why so many people just accept the crumbs the world has to offer, even though it never satisfies them. Listen, this isn’t just a problem facing unbelievers. Many Christians live beneath their spiritual ability. They live beneath what God wants them to have, because they are just not willing to put any effort into their relationship with God.

Salvation is a gift; we don’t work for that, but all relationships require effort, and a relationship with God is no different. From Ruth we see courage, diligence, and effort. She is faithful and committed. What a powerful lesson from a Gentile girl. She wanted to please the one who owned the field. She is looking for grace and she is going to find what she is looking for.

We serve a God who provides a New Beginning for those who belong to Him. The next thing I want you to see in this passage is The Providence of God, Vs. 3. Here we see the will of God come to fruition in the life of Ruth.

Notice what it says, “So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz,” This word “happen” literally means she chanced upon. It gives us the idea of luck or coincidence, or random chance, but we know it was anything but a coincidence because the author introduced us to Boaz for this very purpose.

This is where the secret will of God becomes revealed in the world. This is where it all comes together for Ruth and Boaz. Like a hand that fits into a glove perfectly. Ruth is completely unaware, and she walks right into what God has instore for her life.

This was no accident. In fact, it was no accident that Ruth married one of Naomi’s sons. It was no accident that son passed away in Moab. It was no accident Ruth was determined to go with Naomi back to Bethlehem. And it is no accident she is gleaning in the field of Boaz. There were many fields she could have gleaned in that day, but she chose this field because it was the divine will of God for her life.

Also, it is no accident that Boaz has a mother we should all be familiar with. A Gentile woman named Rahab, the harlot who was saved at Jerico. So, it is no accident that Boaz will have a soft spot in his heart for Ruth, a Gentile woman who has come to glean in his field and she will find favor in his eyes.

This is the hand of God working in the lives of people who have free will, and make free choices, yet God accomplished His will in their life. Because it is no coincidence that Ruth and Boaz will come together, have a child and she will become the great grandmother of King David and ultimately the greater grandmother of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ruth has come to the right place at the right time, and it is exactly as God planned it before the world began. And what is amazing is that same God is working all things together in your life and mine today. And no matter what you are going through or what you have gone through this week God is going to use it for His glory and for your ultimate good.

Conclusion

It is no accident that any of us are saved. We didn’t make a good decision to come to church today. We didn’t choose to seek God of our own accord. God prepared a field of grace for each of us to glean in that we might come to know our kinsmen redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. We can rejoice knowing we serve a God who loves us and has provided salvation for us.

God’s desire is for us to live and enjoy His will for our lives, but we have to glean in the field of grace to have it. What we learn from this passage. We serve a God who provides a new beginning for those who belong to Him.

[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Ru 2:1–3). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Php 2:9–11). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Le 19:9–10). (1995). The Lockman Foundation.