It’s All About Grace

Introduction

Ruth 2:1–13 ESV

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

In March 2025 a DC resident named Tommy M. hit it big. He won $1M with the Powerball drawing. The winning ticket was sold by Tenley Market on Wisconsin Ave, NW. He’d been a loyal DC Lottery player and Tenley Market had been his go-to retail store for decades.

“As regular players, we’re all familiar with one another. We talk about what numbers came out, who won—and this time, it’s me!” he smiled.

Tommy shared that he’d been his mother’s caretaker before she passed away. “It hit me hard, I lost my mom and my dog within a short timeframe.” He continued, “But, I had a dream just the other day. It told me I was going to be a millionaire. And here it is. It’s real!” 

In an April 2025 article, Lucky Park, the owner of Tenley Market, was excited to hear the news that the $1,000,000 winning Powerball ticket was purchased at her store. She proudly shared that this wasn’t the store’s first million-dollar win. Tenley Market was also the place of purchase for a $1,000,000 winning DC Black II scratcher in 2014, and a $25,000 A Year for Life prize with the Lucky for Life national jackpot game in 2016.

Here’s the deal. We live in a society that loves to gamble. When I was a teenager, almost every Friday my grandmother would send me or one of my cousins to the corner store to play the lottery. She’d sometimes even give me a couple of dollars to choose my own numbers to play. And just like Tommy M., her dreams played a prominent role. The numbers she played were often the numbers she dreamt about that week.

Whether people are playing the lottery, going to the casino, placing online sports bets, the opportunity to gamble our money away is pervasive in our society. And everybody is looking for the same woman. Her name is “lady luck.” Luck be a lady tonight. If she shows up I might just hit the big one.

The main problem I have with lady luck is that I can’t find her in the Bible. What the word of God tells me is that God is sovereign and in control. He orders and ordains the events of history for his good pleasure and the good of his creation. The Scriptures also remind me over and over again that God is good and that he’s a faithful provider. So, we ought to find the greatest comfort in the fact that our lives aren’t dependent on lady luck. We’re not dependent in this life on the idea of good fortune. We’re dependent on a good God who always does good.

One of the primary things we’re doing when we put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ is confessing our dependence on the gracious, providential hand of God. And when we look at our text this morning, the theme that dominates the events of this story is the gracious providential hand of God at work for good. The narrater tips us off to the possibility that we might see the hand of God moving behind the scene for the good of Naomi and Ruth when we hear the very first verse,

Ruth 2:1 ESV

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

There is this man named Boaz. He is a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech. And he is a man of valor, a worthy man, a man of great character. We’re being prepared to hear that things are about to change. So I have three points in this message It’s All About Grace. Seeking Grace, Seeing Grace (in God’s Providence -Protective Care), and Surprised by Grace.

Seeking Grace

In your life are you looking for lady luck, or are you looking for grace? God’s people are to seek grace. The followers of Jesus Christ don’t presume on grace, but we sure are supposed to be looking for it. It is likely that this scene in ch. 2 begins the very next morning after Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem. Remember the motivation for Naomi’s return back from Moab was that she heard that the Lord visited his people by giving them food. The physical famine in the land was over. Her soul was empty after her husband and sons died, and she decides to go back home. And her daughter-in-law Ruth clings to her and returns with her. The last verse of ch. 1 tells us that they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

The famine was over, and they’re back. There’s a harvest, but it is by no means a given that they will be able to take advantage of this blessing from the Lord. So Ruth steps out in faith that someone will look upon her with favor, that someone will be gracious to her. She says to Naomi in v. 2

Ruth 2:2 ESV

And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.”

She looks for grace because she knows that’s what she needs. Right now, all of the faith in this mother, daughter-in-law relationship is with the daughter. Remember, Naomi has changed her name to Mara. She’s changed her name from Pleasant to Bitter. And in her bitterness, she’s unable to see the Lord’s kindness. And, because she believes that God is out to get her, she’s not even looking for grace. Let me ask you this. Have you ever been bitter? When we eat something that tastes bitter, our face tightens up. When your heart is bitter that’s what happens to your soul. In Hebrews 12:15 the Bible exhorts us,

Hebrews 12:15 ESV

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Bitterness springing up in the soul causes trouble and defiles. It hardens us, preventing us from seeking grace.

Ruth decides, we can’t sit around here in this gloom. We need to eat. So I need to go out into the field and look for grace. Ruth is probably not familiar with the law of Israel, but the narrator knows that those who are hearing this story know what the law says. God had made provision in the law for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. 

Leviticus 19:33–34 ESV

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 24:19–22 ESV

“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

That’s how it was supposed to work. But I keep reminding you of the setting for this book of Ruth. It was during the time when the Judges ruled. That period time was defined by the statements in Judges 2:16-17, and 21:25. The Lord raised up judges, but the people wouldn’t listen to them. They went after other gods. There was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Ruth goes out looking to find favor in someone’s eyes because there’s no guarantee that any landowner will make sure to apply the law. It’s also likely that she needs favor from someone because she wasn’t the only one in line for food stamps. She wasn’t the only one in need of welfare. There were sure to be plenty of other poor people with more experience than her who knew how to work the system. So she goes out with a mind to look for grace. 

Can I tell you something? Grace isn’t just necessary for salvation (Eph. 2, “by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”), but grace is necessary for life every single day. People who belong to Jesus are invited to look for grace, to seek grace. I quote from Hebrews 4:16 often. We are invited there to draw near to the throne of grace, so that we can receive mercy and find well-timed grace. We are called, invited, and privileged to seek grace, living as people who are dependent on God for every aspect of life. 

However, Ruth doesn’t presume on the grace she’s seeking. We don’t really know this until the foreman’s explanation to Boaz down in v. 7. Ruth goes out early in the morning, looking for grace. Sometime later, Boaz shows up. In v. 4, he greets his workers, “The Lord be with you.” They reply, “The Lord bless you.” He see’s Ruth standing there and he asks his foreman, “Whose young woman is this?” “She’s the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. She asked, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.”

This is a point where I think that the ESV and the NIV don’t give us the best translation of the Hebrew text. Those translations give us the sense in v. 7 that Ruth has been working all day. But the NAS does a better job of translating the last part of v. 7. 

Ruth 2:7 NASB 95

And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

She made her request to the foreman early in the morning and has stood there waiting for her request to be answered. Either the foreman refused her request or he did not have the authority to grant it. She is patiently waiting for the grace that she’s seeking. She’s determined to wait because she realizes that she has no other options. The reality is that we don’t really have any options either, except to wait for grace. It’s hard to do that when you’re materially prosperous. When I was in seminary I wrote a paper for one of my classes that focused on some of the Negro Spirituals that were born out of the hard life of the African slaves in America. As I read through my source material one thing stood out. To live as enslaved Christian in America meant to live in utter dependence on the grace of God. It was a daily seeking after God’s grace for life. That is a part of the heritage of Christianity in this country that we would do well to emulate today.  We’re not looking to be in bondage, but let’s commit to being grace seekers. You can’t go wrong as a grace seeker because the providence of God is at work. And that sovereign God is the very one who grants the grace we seek.

Seeing Grace

One way we see God granting grace in this text is through his providence. What is providence?

Dictionary of Bible Themes 1355 providence

The continuing and often unseen activity of God in sustaining his universe, providing for the needs of every creature, and preparing for the completion of his eternal purposes.

Naomi thought that the Lord was out to get her. She declared that the hand of the Lord had attacked her. To her, there was no grace in the providence of God. She had rightly recognized that God was Lord over the events of human history. But, in her mind, God’s providence didn’t mean his protective care. His providence didn’t mean good to her, it meant disaster. We talked last week about how Naomi’s self-centeredness and bitterness directed at God prevented her from seeing that God had providentially moved for her good. He had provided protective care because he provided Ruth. And we said we can’t be judgmental with Naomi over her anger, bitterness and depression because we need to imagine the pain of losing your husband and then your two children.

We ought not be so super spiritual that we have our heads in the theological clouds and not down on the ground in the real life pain. What you don’t do when someone is dealing with extreme tragedy and loss is talk to them about the providence of God. His providential care is true, but it’s likely that the pain is too raw. What you do if you’re coming alongside someone is suffering or grieving is recognize that you might actually be a representation of the providential care of God in the moment. That ain’t the time to get deep and theological. Make a meal. Shut up and sit quietly if necessary. Be a prayerful and silent presence of comfort if that’s what the situation is calling for.

So it is with Ruth and Naomi. Even her response to Ruth in v. 2 displays her despondence. When Ruth says, let me go and glean, Naomi simply says, “go my daughter.”

Then I love what the narrator does in vv. 3-4. 

[Ruth] happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. (Ruth 2:3–4 ESV)

A woodenly literal translation of says, “her chance chanced to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz.” It’s an idiomatic expression. We would put it this way, “As luck would have it…” Maybe I was wrong. Lady luck is in the Bible. No, the narrator is using irony to make the point. We’re supposed to read that and say, “yeah right, Ruth was just lucky to stumble across Boaz’s portion of the field.” There weren’t any fences that separated one portion of the harvesting field from another. There were separate fields for the different harvests (wheat, barely, olives, etc.). But there were no signs or fences to let you know which portion of which field belonged to whom. 

So as luck would have it the portion of the field that Ruth chooses is the one that belongs to Boaz. As luck would have it, Boaz shows up to check out the progress of the workers on that very day. As luck would have it, he’s heard about what Ruth has done for Naomi (v. 11). As luck would have it, Boaz is a kinsman redeemer (v. 20). No. As God would have it all of these things are true. Even by the mention of the Lord’s name twice in v. 4, we’re being told that he’s the one who is working behind the scenes. He’s the one orchestrating the events. 

God’s gracious providence does not mean that everything will be easy. But even through trial and hardship and pain and suffering and death, there’s grace. I would say, especially…It’s the marvelous grace of our loving Lord. 

Are you able to see it? Are you able to recognize God’s gracious providence working in your own life? Are we seeking after grace? If we are, do you recognize it when it comes? Look for the hand of God moving through the events of your life. He wasn’t just sovereign over the events in Ruth and Naomi’s life. He’s still sovereign. That’s one of the ways in which you can grow in your faith. If you’ve lived a while, you’ve been through some difficult and challenging times in your life. You might even be in the middle of craziness right now. But the fact that you’re present here and in your right mind is an indication of God’s protective care; his gracious providence at work on your behalf. Take time to reflect and remember those things as a source of strength. We need it because as we continue to live, what won’t change is that there will be more difficulties and challenges and moments of crisis. If we take the time to remember, what we’ll find is that God’s grace goes beyond our expectations. His grace will surprise us.

Surprised by Grace

The law said that the sojourner, fatherless, and widowed were to be allowed to pick up and keep the grain that was dropped. As we saw earlier, there was sure to be competition for the grain that fell. This was by no means a guarantee of substantial food. Yet, Ruth needed grace to get even that. Everything seemed to be stacked against her. She was poor. She was a widow. She was a foreigner. Who would take up her cause? Who would have mercy on her and permit her to get at least enough food for today?  You know who. The Lord is the one who has mercy on her and grants her the grace she’s seeking. And he does it through Boaz. But when we read the text, the thing that surprises us is that Boaz goes far beyond what anyone expected. Listen to what he says in verses 8-9…

Ruth 2:8–9 ESV

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”

Do you hear how tenderly he speaks to her? We’ll get to these verses in the next message, but listen to him agin in vv.15-16

Ruth 2:15–16 ESV

When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

He goes far beyond what the law requires. What a wonderful picture of grace! Boaz surprises her with the abundance of his grace. Boaz takes her in as one of his own. He takes up her cause. She had nothing to offer him. Her pockets were empty. She had nothing but an open, empty, expectant hand…Nothing in my hands I bring, but simply to the cross I cling. Grace is free. In Is. 55 the Lord says, 

Isaiah 55:1–2 ESV

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

The Lord says come to me and be satisfied. Come to me and find all that you need. And you can buy without money. You don’t need a dime in your pocket. And it is abundantly more than we can ask or think! And look at Ruth’s response to the abundant grace that she receives…

Ruth 2:10 ESV

Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

She is overwhelmed. I said that we should look for grace, but we should still be blown away by it when it comes. That’s because grace, by its nature is undeserved. It only comes to sinners. Grace is scandalous because grace isn’t about fairness. Has the grace of Jesus become routine for you? Does it still blow you away that the Lord would look favorably upon you? It should. You know your sin. You know that if justice were to roll down like a mighty stream you would not be able to stand. But grace! But for marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe! Are you overwhelmed by that grace? Ruth is keenly aware of her position as a foreigner. We’ve heard twice in this passage that she’s a Moabite. She is an immigrant who has been brought into the fold. God won’t let us forget the cross-cultural imperative and nature of his gospel. His grace crosses boundaries to give refuge to those who need it. If God’s grace does not overwhelm us sometimes it is because we have a tendency to forget that we were foreigners. Hebrews 6:13 says that Christians are people who taken refuge in God. Christians can forget that we who were once afar off from God have been brought near because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Seeking grace and being comforted by the surprise of grace bookend this passage. Ruth says in v. 2 to Naomi, “Let me go out and look for grace.” She says in v. 13 to Boaz, “I’ve found grace in your eyes because you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I’m an outsider.” I love the wooden literal translation of the word kindly in v. 13. Ruth says, “ have spoken over the heart of your servant.” That’s what God does. He speaks the comforting words of his grace over our hearts. He, in his providential acts, comforts our hearts with grace.

Seek grace family. Seek it because Jesus invites us to seek it by faith. And see the gracious providence of God being worked out in our lives, even when it is his hard providence. And continue to be surprised by that grace that always exceeds our expectations.