Grace Upon Grace

Good morning Church! If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, please turn with me to Ruth 2. We are wrapping up Ruth 2. Before we dive into that though, I just want to say thank you to those of you who sent cards and gifts of encouragement to Amber and I during pastor appreciation month. It was such a blessing to hear how God is working in so many people’s lives and hearts. So thank you very very much.

Today we’re continuing to talk about grace and providence. We see God providing for His people and advances His redemptive plan through ordinary means of faithfulness and kindness.

I remember hearing the story of George Muller who cared for over 10,000 orphans through his ministry, once sat down to breakfast with hundreds of orphans. There was nothing to eat or drink, but he called the children in and prayed and gave thanks for the food that they were to receive. After prayer, a knock came at the door and a baker came in. He awoke at 2am and felt compelled to bake extra bread for the day for Muller and the orphans. At the same time a carriage carrying milk was going past and the wheel broke. The milk man asked if Muller could use the milk before it spoiled.

Stories like that remind us that what looks random to us is never random to God. His providence threads every circumstance into a larger design. That brings to mind another picture—like the back side of a tapestry The back side of a tapestry is just a knots and strings that don’t make much sense. We don’t see things clearly and if we’re not careful we may fall into the feeling of fatalism. That God is going to do whatever He so desires, regardless of our prayers or actions. Let me be clear, God can and does whatever He desires in heaven and earth, but He also uses ordinary people to accomplish those things.

God uses things that seem to us to be random chance and happenstance to work wonderful and beautiful things for His glory.

Last week, we saw Boaz being the tool that God used to demonstrate His grace toward Ruth and today we get to see the result of that as we learn about grace upon grace.

Please stand with me in honor of God’s Word as we read Ruth 2:14-23

Ruth 2:14–23 ESV

14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

The passage begins with Boaz doing something pretty radical for that time: he invites Ruth the Moabite to come and eat with him. Look at what Boaz says to Ruth, “Come here and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the wine.

Notice a couple things that happen:

Boaz invites Ruth, a foreigner, to come near. Ruth had no right to draw near. She was excluded from the assembly of the Lord, she was a widow which meant that she had no standing in the community, and she was gleaner which was the lowest profession. She was observing the proper etiquette by separating herself from everyone but Boaz welcomes her into fellowship. But Boaz beckons her. It’s a clear invitation to come. The Hebrew word is “nagas” which is sometimes translated as coming near. It’s a close term that is used to describe drawing near and it’s what God Himself beckons us to do. This is a call of grace.

Boaz shares his workers bread. This is Ruth’s first day out there and she doesn’t have a dime to her name, she has a short reputation as a hard worker, but he offers her bread. We don’t know how long its been since she’s eaten but we can assumed that Ruth is very hungry. This was a culture where hunger was the norm.

Boaz even offers her a condiment! Now, this wine was actually a wine vinegar for flavoring bland foods. As Christians, when it comes to food some people think that “just the necessities” is enough of grace, but the law of Christ is abundance!

Boaz personally serves her roasted grain! For Boaz, the owner of the field and the employer of all the workers, to serve Ruth, it just shows honor upon honor toward Ruth.

She eats until she’s satisfied and has leftovers. Boaz gives her more than what she needs.

This simple meal turns into a feast of grace—and from it we learn our first truth today

Grace at the Table

Just as Boaz welcomed the outsider, so God welcomes us to come to Him. He doesn’t treat Ruth as a new, unproven servant but honors her with tremendous love! God gives us our daily bread and abundant life! Jesus Christ served us by dying for us, and continues to serve by interceding for us before the throne of the Father.

You see, the Gospel gives us a greater view of grace and abundance. It allows us to see people as they rightly are- as image bearers of God. Ruth the Moabite is Ruth the favored because Boaz has a great view of God’s heart for the nations. In Acts 10, Peter has a vision from God where a great sheet came down from heaven and there were all kinds of animals on it and a voice spoke “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” Peter refused and the voice said, “What God has made clean do not call common.”

Acts 10:16 ESV

16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

This was a strange thing for Peter to see, but God had a purpose in it. Not only was God saying that all food was made clean now, but the greater truth was that the Gospel was to go to the nations! One of the best ways you can be evangelistic is not through functioning through programs but by living with purpose. Just as Peter learned that God’s grace welcomes outsiders, Boaz was already living that truth generations earlier in how he treated Ruth.

Let me say that again in a different way— evangelistic programs are not the answer to reaching the lost, living according to God’s purpose is and the example here from Boaz is ministry through hospitality. Hospitality is missional when we notice the Ruth’s among us— the outsiders, the poor, the social outcasts.

Rosaria Butterfield was a committed LGBTQ atheist and professor who despised Christianity—until a Reformed pastor and his wife invited her into their home. Through years of ordinary meals and gospel conversations, God used their quiet hospitality to bring her to faith. Their simple “Come in” mirrored Boaz’s invitation to Ruth: unexpected kindness that opened the door to redemption.

The grace and abundant life that is offered in Christ doesn’t just give us what we need, but abundant life! Jesus doesn’t just give us roasted grain or dry bread while He keeps the best back for Himself but rather, gives us His best— the Bread of Life.

When Ruth finishes her meal, she leaves and Boaz instructs his young men to minister to her by letting her glean among the sheaves and even pull some out and leave them for her to glean. And she did. She worked hard until evening doing the gleaning and then she threshed to get an ephah of barley.

This leads us to the second point:

Grace in the Field

An ephah is 30-50 pounds of grain. It’s about the equivalent of a Costco sized bag of dog food; which is a massive amount for one day’s work. It’s roughly 2 weeks of wages! And this shows us Boaz’s generosity but it also shows Ruth’s work ethic. You see when we experience grace the right response is not to rest on our laurels, but to engage.

Christians have a responsibility to work hard in the Kingdom of God, but we don’t work hard for grace, our effort proceeds from grace. Matthew Henry said, “Providence sometimes drops handfuls on purpose for those that trust Him.” Ruth’s gleaning wasn’t luck—it was God’s grace leaving gifts in her path. In other words, our good work is validation of a changed life, but good works do not produce life change. Only by abiding in Christ and remaining in the Gospel do Christians grow and increase in meaningful life change.

Now, Ruth gathers her grain and she carried it home to Naomi. Now remember, Naomi is going by Mara right now. She wants to be bitter but Naomi sees what Ruth brings home. And Ruth even provides the leftovers from her meal. This shows such love and concern because as I said, it was a culture familiar with hunger and instead of gorging herself on what was available, she saved some and gave it to Naomi.

Now, I want you to think about the massive change that’s just happened. Not only does Naomi and Ruth have food for the day, but through Boaz’s generosity, they have enough to eat for 2 weeks. What ended in chapter 1 with emptiness, loneliness, and bitterness God has changed to acceptance and abundance. This is an obvious sign of God’s blessing and God doesn’t do anything particularly miraculous except that he uses a normal, working man to change the lives of needy people.

This is such a normal thing and when blessings and grace come into our lives, as believers it should naturally spill over into others lives. It should improve the lives of others. In other words, Boaz was clearly blessed by God and he didn’t hoard his blessings but lavishly shared them with others. If God blesses you, then you are called to bless others as well.

Now, Naomi says much more than a couple words here, she asks questions because it would be very unusual for anyone to be able to glean this much in a day. “Where did you glean? Where have you worked?”

The ephah of barley is shocking enough. To have a ready prepared meal as well, was even more astonishing!

This is clearly a blessing and Naomi says “Blessed be the man who took notice of you.”

Then Naomi said something that marks a turning point in her heart—a moment of recognition we could call

Recognizing God’s Grace

Naomi’s bitterness begins to soften in light of the abundance of God’s grace. But then what Ruth says is really exciting! She tells her that she worked for a man named Boaz and Naomi, you can hear the excitement, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!”

Whose kindness is she talk about? The Lords or Boaz’s? It’s ambiguous and its deliberate because it’s through Boaz that Naomi experiences God’s covenant faithfulness and love. This is the first time that Naomi has talked where it’s not about bitterness but emphasizes God’s blessing. She says God’s kindness goes to the living and the dead.

That word kindness is hesed which encompasses a lot. It’s a word about love, mercy, loyalty, covenant, faithfulness, grace, and God’s goodness. To the living, Naomi is talking about herself and Ruth through God’s provision and to the dead she means her husband and sons because their family line and inheritance had been cut off and the potential of a redeemer.

But Naomi says, and this is the best part, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” You might remember last week how I told about abotu go-el’s. They could buy back lost land, free relatives from slavery, avenge wrongs and guard family inheritances and names. What happens here is Boaz is described as a redeemer, but Boaz points to the greater redeemer, Jesus Christ, who redeemed us voluntarily at tremendous cost to Himself. Just as The Lord was to Israel

Exodus 6:6 ESV

6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

So Jesus redeems us by His love

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When we make a habit of recognizing God’s grace, it never hardens us but always softens. It does the opposite of makes us bitter, it makes us sweet. In fact, it multiplies the fragrance of Christ in our lives when we live with a heart focused on seeing God’s grace. Naomi’s heart began to change as she counted God’s blessings one by one—and that reminds me of a hymn written for people learning to do the same in hard times.

In 1897 the world was embroiled in massive changes. The industrial age was ramping up with labor laws still being formed. Men, women, and children often worked in awful conditions in factories. Wealthy men ruled as tyrants on a wide scale and many people barely scratched a living. Johnson Oatman Jr. was not a pastor, but was a prolific hymn-writer who wrote the hymn “Count Your Blessings”. The lyrics say “When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”

The song was an instant hit with the church at large. It was said that the hymn grew so quickly that it went to the front lines of Africa during the Boer War where men sang the song between various assaults to keep their spirits up. When we focus on the blessings that God gives to us it helps us to keep a good perspective on the Lord.

Naomi sees the meal that Ruth brought, she sees the couple weeks worth of barley that she gleaned, and she hears that Ruth has found favor in the eyes of a redeemer. Naomi may be bitter, but she also sees God’s hand. But Ruth discloses even more information, “And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”

There’s an ongoing invitation and Naomi picks up on this immediately that this a good thing to stay in Boaz’s field because Boaz has offered protection, community, and a source of consistent food for a while. And so that’s what Ruth did. Notice, Naomi left the field and came back empty. So she instructs Ruth to remain with Boaz which hints to repentance and lessons learned.

Ruth 2:23 ESV

23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

The provision and protection extended for another several weeks. The season lasts from Passover to Pentecost and so Ruth is experiencing the first fruits of God’s grace as she continues faithfully gleaning in Boaz’s field. Week after week, Ruth remained in Boaz’s field—faithful in small things, steady in service, and sheltered in grace. It’s a beautiful picture of what we might call

Grace in Perseverance

God simply proves His faithfulness to us over and over again. And spoiler alert: God is continually working not only to give her bread and community but is also in the process of redeeming Ruth by bringing Boaz around to be her kinsman-Redeemer.

Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

So what do we learn from all this? Well we learn about God’s grace and covenant faithfulness. We’ve seen grace at the table, grace in the field, grace recognized, and grace in perseverance. Each moment reminds us that God’s providence graciously provides for His people and moves His plan forward through ordinary faithfulness and unexpected kindness.

Naomi and Ruth are taken care of. More than just their basic needs but abundant life is given to them with an amazing hope that comes to fruition. How much better is the redemption that Christ offers? We were destitute, divided, and dead but Christ has brought liberty, love and life by giving us His Son so that anyone that turns from their sin and trusts in Jesus Christ alone can be saved!

So we can look at this story and we can see that sometimes God allows trials and hardships to call us out of places we shouldn’t be. Naomi shouldn’t have been in Moab, but through her choices she was there and yet, through all the bitter things Naomi went through God was still working for her redemption as well as Ruth’s.

We also learn that God’s grace never leads us to being presumptuous but guides us to grow in faithfulness. This is a sign of God’s work within you— joyfully recognizing His grace and growing in peace and confidence in Christ. Christian, stay in the Redeemer’s field; count His mercies; and let His grace turn your ordinary faithfulness into someone else’s unexpected blessing.

Head: God wants you to know that He weaves His redemption through everyday faithfulness and grace-filled kindness.

Ruth 2 shows that God is not absent in the mundane. Boaz’s compassion, Ruth’s diligence, and Naomi’s awakening are all threads in His redemptive design. Knowing this guards us from fatalism — God’s sovereignty never cancels human responsibility; instead, He works through our everyday obedience.

Heart: God wants you to believe that since His providence is personal and purposeful, we can trust His heart even when we can’t see His hand.

If God could use gleaning and grain to restore two widows, then His grace is certainly at work in your circumstances, even when it’s hidden. Boaz’s kindness points us to the covenant love (ḥesed) of Christ, who redeems us at infinite cost. Believing that God is both sovereign and good frees your heart from bitterness and fear.

Hand: God wants you to live faithfully where He has placed you and extend His grace to others.

Because we trust in a gracious Redeemer, we can mirror His kindness. Be attentive to the “Ruths” God places in your path. Serve, share, and stay faithful in your field. Your ordinary obedience may become the very means by which someone else encounters God’s extraordinary grace.