When God Provides (Spanish)

Good afternoon, church. If you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and open them to Ruth chapter 2. Today we’re going to continue our series through the book of Ruth that we’ve titled The God Who Redeems. We’re going to be looking specifically at chapter 2, verses 8 through 17, and I’ve titled today’s sermon: When God Provides.

Before we get into our text, I want to tell you a story. A few years ago, after COVID, my wife and I found ourselves in a pretty difficult financial situation. We had gotten to the point where every month we were in the red.

Like many churches, our church had been affected during COVID, and that affected us directly as well. Eventually, we realized we had accumulated too much debt, so we made the difficult decision to sell our house and use the equity to pay it off.

During that same time, we needed a second vehicle—something inexpensive because the last thing we wanted was another large expense. So I talked to Manny.

Most of you know Manny. He’s a mechanic here in our church. And I know Manny doesn’t like attention. When this happened, he asked me not to make a big deal about it. So, brother, I’m sharing this with respect, because what you did for us illustrates something in this passage that I want our church to see.

I remember telling Manny, “Brother, if you come across anything inexpensive, let me know. I don’t need anything fancy. Just a vehicle to be able to move around.”

Sometime later, Manny called me. He had purchased a Nissan Versa that he had been considering keeping for Lily. He said, “I have this car. If you want, come take a look at it.”

So I went over, looked at the car, and thought, Man, this is perfect. This is exactly what we need.

Naturally, I asked him, “How much do you want for it?” And that’s when Manny told me he had already spoken with his wife. And the price was… zero. (We have named the car Freebie)

I remember being overwhelmed by their generosity. I wasn’t asking Manny to give me a car. I was prepared to pay for one and simply hoped he could help me find something reliable within our budget.

But what we received was far more gracious than what we expected.

And church, there are moments in life when God’s provision catches us by surprise. We know we have a need. We’re trying to figure out how to cover it. And then suddenly, we experience a kindness we didn’t arrange and weren’t expecting.

I think that’s something of what Ruth experiences in our passage today. Last week, as we looked at the first seven verses of chapter 2, we saw that God had already gone before Ruth. But now, in verses 8 through 17, we begin to see what God had actually prepared for her.

And what we discover is that God’s provision is not cold, impersonal, or merely enough. This passage reveals four characteristics of God’s providential care for His people.

So let’s begin with the first:

I. La Provision de Dios Nos Protege

Ruth 2:8–9 NBLA

Entonces Booz dijo a Rut: Oye, hija mía. No vayas a espigar a otro campo; tampoco pases de aquí, sino quédate con mis criadas. (V9) Fíjate en el campo donde ellas siegan y síguelas, pues he ordenado a los siervos que no te molesten. Cuando tengas sed, ve a las vasijas y bebe del agua que sacan los siervos.

As a way of review, last week we left Ruth working in a field whose owner she did not know.

Ruth needed to provide for herself and Naomi, so she went out to glean. V3 tells us she “happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz.” Ruth doesn’t know who Boaz is yet. But we do.

The narrator introduced him in V1 as a man of great wealth—a man with great resources. So, Boaz arrives, notices this unfamiliar woman, asks who she is, and after learning that this is Ruth, the Moabite who returned with Naomi, in V8 he speaks directly to her.

Ruth 2:8 NBLA

Entonces Booz dijo a Rut: «Oye, hija mía. No vayas a espigar a otro campo; tampoco pases de aquí, sino quédate con mis criadas.

Immediately I want you notice the way Boaz addresses Ruth. He calls her “my daughter.”

Church, this is tender language. It likely reflects the difference in age between Boaz and Ruth, but here it communicates kindness and respect rather than distance or contempt.

And this matters because Ruth is a poor, foreign widow working in the fields without a husband or father there to protect her. Which means that she is extremely vulnerable.

Yet the first words she hears from the owner of this field are not words of suspicion or judgment. They are words of care: “Listen carefully, my daughter.”

And then watch how that care unfolds.

Boaz says: “Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one…”

In other words: Ruth, your prayer has been heard. You don’t have to keep looking for a field to glean.

Remember, Ruth had gone out that morning hoping to find someone in whose sight she might find favor. Now Boaz tells her: You can stay here. She doesn’t have to move from field to field wondering how the next landowner might receive her.

Then Boaz adds: “…but join my young women here.”

That’s significant. Reformed Old Testament scholar John Currid suggests these young women were likely connected to Boaz’s clan and enjoyed the protection of that association.

Whatever their precise status was, the picture is clear: Boaz is placing Ruth within a protected group rather than leaving her isolated.

For this reason he says in V9: “Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them.”

Stay with them.

Follow them.

Glean where they’re working.

But then Boaz says something that reveals just how vulnerable Ruth was: “Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you.”

Church, why would Boaz have to say that? Because working in these fields as a poor, foreign widow carried real danger. (WPB - Home Depot)

Here in the text the verb translated “touch” can have a range of meanings, but in this context it clearly involves unwanted interference or harm. Later Naomi makes the danger explicit. In verse 22, when she hears Ruth is remaining in Boaz’s field, she says it is good because in another field Ruth might be assaulted.

So we don’t need to speculate about precisely what might have happened. The narrator tells us enough:

1. Rut era vulnerable al maltrato y al abuso, y Booz tomó medidas intencionales para protegerla.

Notice, Boaz doesn’t wait for something bad to happen. He has already spoken to his men: “I have ordered the servants not to touch you.” That’s protection.

You can work here.

You can stay with these women.

Because here you’ll be safe.

Then protection begins to turn into provision as Boaz adds: “When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw.”

Before Boaz arrived, Ruth was the poor foreigner working behind everyone else. And now she has access to the water his workers have already drawn. Just look at what happens in two verses.

Ruth needs somewhere to glean. Boaz gives her a field.

She’s vulnerable and alone. Boaz places her among his young women.

She’s exposed to mistreatment. Boaz commands his men not to touch her.

She’s going to become thirsty. Boaz gives her access to his water.

And here is where we must remember how God’s providence works: Boaz is the means, but God is the Provider.

Boaz is responsible for his kindness, and we’ll continue to see the character of this godly man. But the narrator has already shown us that Ruth did not orchestrate any of this. God brought her here.

And now through Boaz’s ordinary kindness, Ruth is beginning to experience God’s care for her.

Because:

2. La provisión de Dios no simplemente le da un lugar donde trabajar; le da un lugar donde puede permanecer segura.

Now church, we need to be careful with what we mean when we say God’s provision protects us.

It doesn’t mean Christians will never suffer or that nothing painful will ever happen to us. Ruth and Naomi are evidence of that. Ruth has already experienced famine. She has buried her husband. She has left her homeland. She has entered Bethlehem as a poor widow and foreigner.

So,

3. La protección de Dios no significa que vivimos en una burbuja donde el quebrantamiento de este mundo nunca puede alcanzarnos.

However it does mean that:

4. Aun en un mundo quebrantado y peligroso, nunca estamos fuera del cuidado providencial de Dios.

And sometimes we don’t even realize all the ways God is protecting us—circumstances He directs, dangers we never see, ordinary people and decisions He uses to care for us.

Ruth probably woke up that morning thinking, “I need somewhere to work.” She may not have realized she also needed a field where she would be protected. But God knew.

And church, that’s part of the beauty of God’s providential care:

5. Dios ve lo que necesitamos mucho antes de que nosotros mismos lo veamos.

And as we continue, we discover that God’s provision doesn’t only protect us:

II. La Provision de Dios es Clemente

Ruth 2:10 NBLA

Ella bajó su rostro, se postró en tierra y le dijo: «¿Por qué he hallado gracia ante sus ojos para que se fije en mí, siendo yo extranjera?

Here in V10 Ruth is overwhelmed by the kindness she has received. Think about what Boaz has told her.

You can stay in my field.

You can remain with my young women.

I’ve told the men not to touch you.

When you’re thirsty, you can drink from the water my servants have drawn.

And Ruth’s response is essentially: Why? “Why have I found favor in your sight?” Ruth understands something important: Boaz doesn’t owe her any of this.

Yes, God’s law commanded landowners to leave part of their harvest for the poor, the widow, and the foreigner. But Boaz goes far beyond the minimum. He gives Ruth a place to remain, protection, and access to his water.

Ruth recognizes that she is receiving favor she could not demand.

And church, that’s the nature of grace.

6. La gracia no consiste en recibir algo que Dios nos debe. La gracia consiste en recibir una bondad que jamás podríamos exigirle.

That’s why Ruth’s question is so appropriate: “Why have I found favor in your sight?”

She’s not standing before Boaz demanding what she deserves. She’s bowing before him amazed by what she has received.

And there’s something here for us. Sometimes we experience God’s kindness for so long that we begin to treat His provision as though we’re entitled to it. But grace produces a different response.

Grace makes us ask, “Why have I received such kindness?”

That’s what we see in Ruth.

She’s protected.

She’s provided for.

She’s been shown favor she wasn’t expecting.

Because God’s provision is gracious. But then Boaz answers her question, and his answer reveals something else:

III. La Provision de Dios es Personal

Ruth 2:11–13 NBLA

Booz le respondió: Todo lo que has hecho por tu suegra después de la muerte de tu esposo me ha sido informado en detalle, y cómo dejaste a tu padre, a tu madre y tu tierra natal, y viniste a un pueblo que antes no conocías. (V12) Que el Señor recompense tu obra y que tu pago sea completo de parte del Señor, Dios de Israel, bajo cuyas alas has venido a refugiarte. (V13) Entonces ella dijo: Señor mío, he hallado gracia ante sus ojos, porque me ha consolado y en verdad ha hablado con bondad a su sierva, aunque yo no soy ni como una de sus criadas.

Church, look at how personal Boaz’s response becomes.

In essence, Boaz’s answer to Ruth’s question is: “Ruth, I know.”

I know you lost your husband.

I know what you have been doing for Naomi.

I know you left your father and your mother.

I know you left the land where you were born.

I know you came to live among a people you didn’t previously know.

Boaz hasn’t simply noticed another poor woman in his field. He knows who Ruth is. And I think there’s a beautiful picture here of God’s providential care for His people, because:

7. El cuidado de Dios nunca es impersonal.

We don’t serve a God who merely knows that His people have needs. We serve a God who knows His people.

He knows what we need.

He knows when we need it.

He knows how we need it.

And sometimes He reminds us of that in incredibly personal ways.

A few years ago, I was in Cuba with Ray and Valdez, and the trip happened to fall during my birthday. I was spending the day with Pastor Junior visiting people from the church, and I casually mentioned, “Actually, today’s my birthday.”

After that, Junior was constantly on his phone texting people. I didn’t know him well at the time, and I remember thinking, Man, this dude is kind of rude. We’re visiting people from his church, and he’s just texting everybody.

I had no idea what he was doing.

Later that night, while I was staying at Pastor Migue’s house near the church, somebody told me to come over. When I arrived, people from the church had gathered to celebrate my birthday.

They had made me a cake. And then I discovered what Junior had been doing on his phone. You have to understand, in Cuba there was tremendous lack. You couldn’t simply run to the grocery store for everything you needed.

So Junior had been communicating with different people in the church.

Who has flour?

Who has sugar?

Who has butter?

They were gathering ingredients from different homes so they could make me a birthday cake.

That night, while we were without power, those brothers and sisters gathered around me, held up a phone with my wife on the line, and sang happy birthday to me. And I remember thinking, I don’t deserve this.

Here I am, away from home, in another country, separated from my wife on my birthday—and through the kindness of His people, God reminded me that He knew exactly where I was.

Church,

8. La providencia de Dios no consiste simplemente en que Dios organiza las circunstancias. Su providencia es el cuidado de un Padre que conoce a Sus hijos.

And that’s exactly where Boaz directs Ruth’s attention in V12:

Ruth 2:12 NBLA

Que el Señor recompense tu obra y que tu pago sea completo de parte del Señor, Dios de Israel, bajo cuyas alas has venido a refugiarte.

Don’t miss that. Boaz ultimately takes the attention off himself and places it on the LORD.

Yes, Boaz is showing Ruth kindness.

Yes, Boaz is protecting her.

Yes, Boaz is providing for her.

But Boaz recognizes that behind all of this stands the God of Israel, under whose wings Ruth has come to take refuge.

That’s a beautiful picture. Because Ruth came to Bethlehem having lost her husband, left her family, left her homeland, and entrusted herself to a God she was learning to know.

Now she is beginning to experience what it means to live under His wings.

And notice her response in V13:

Ruth 2:13 NBLA

Entonces ella dijo: Señor mío, he hallado gracia ante sus ojos, porque me ha consolado y en verdad ha hablado con bondad a su sierva, aunque yo no soy ni como una de sus criadas.

Don’t miss it, church:

Ruth is looking beyond the grain.

She’s looking beyond water.

She’s looking beyond having somewhere safe to work.

Ruth says, “You have comforted me.”

And then: “You have spoken kindly to your servant.”

That expression carries the idea of speaking to the heart. Something has happened inside Ruth. She hasn’t simply received something in her hands. She has been comforted in her heart.

And church, here’s what I want us to see: God knows more than what we need. He knows us.

He knows where you are.

He knows what you’ve lost.

He knows the burdens you’re carrying that nobody else can see.

He knows the things you need before you even know how to ask for them.

9. El Dios bajo cuyas alas Rut ha venido a refugiarse conoce a Rut personalmente.

Because God’s provision is personal. And as we continue into V14, we discover that His provision is not only personal:

IV. La Provision de Dios es Suficiente

Ruth 2:14–17 NBLA

A la hora de comer, Booz le dijo a Rut: Ven acá para que comas del pan y mojes tu pedazo de pan en el vinagre. Así pues ella se sentó junto a los segadores. Booz le sirvió grano tostado, y ella comió hasta saciarse y aún le sobró. 15 Cuando ella se levantó para espigar, Booz ordenó a sus siervos y les dijo: Déjenla espigar aun entre las gavillas y no la avergüencen. 16 También sacarán a propósito para ella un poco de grano de los manojos y lo dejarán para que ella lo recoja. No la reprendan 17 Rut espigó en el campo hasta el anochecer, y desgranó lo que había espigado, y fue como 22 litros de cebada.

Church, as we reach V14, think about how much has changed since Ruth began her day.

Ruth started the day asking for permission to pick up what was left behind. By lunchtime, Boaz has invited her to sit and eat with the reapers. And he doesn’t merely allow her to sit there. The text tells us Boaz himself serves her roasted grain.

Then I love the way the verse describes what happens: “She ate and was satisfied and had some left.”

She didn’t simply eat enough to survive. She was satisfied. And there leftovers. (Kerem) But the provision doesn’t stop there.

Ruth 2:15–16 NBLA

Cuando ella se levantó para espigar, Booz ordenó a sus siervos y les dijo: Déjenla espigar aun entre las gavillas y no la avergüencen. (V16) También sacarán a propósito para ella un poco de grano de los manojos y lo dejarán para que ella lo recoja. No la reprendan.

Do you see what’s happening? The provision keeps increasing. At first, Ruth is allowed to glean according to God’s law for the poor. Then Boaz gives her a field, water, protection, a place at his table, and food.

Now he tells his workers: “Don’t just let her pick up what’s left behind. Purposely pull some out of the bundles and leave it for her.”

Boaz is intentionally placing provision in her path.

Then V17 gives us the result:

Ruth 2:17 NBLA

Rut espigó en el campo hasta el anochecer, y desgranó lo que había espigado, y fue como 22 litros de cebada.

Now, we read “an ephah of barley” and that probably doesn’t mean much to us.

But John Currid estimates that an ephah here represents approximately 30 pounds of barley.

10. Rut no regresa a casa con un puñado de grano. Lleva consigo una cantidad extraordinaria de provisión como resultado de un solo día de trabajo.

And remember that chapter 1 began with famine and ended by telling us that Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. And now we see Ruth walking home from the field carrying an 30 pounds of barley.

And church, here’s what I want us to see:

11. La provisión de Dios es mas que suficiente.

Ruth ate.

She was satisfied.

And she had some left.

And I think there’s a beautiful place for us to finish, because this theme of God’s provision didn’t begin in the book of Ruth.

As a matter of fact, we need go back to Genesis 3.

Think about it in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve have sinned against God, and suddenly they realize that they are naked. They are ashamed, and they try to cover themselves. But their covering is inadequate.

And after God confronts them in their sin and announces the consequences of the fall, Genesis 3:21 tells us that God Himself makes garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothes them. Don’t miss the picture.

They sinned.

They were ashamed.

They tried to cover themselves.

But ultimately, God provided the covering they needed.

And even there, at the very beginning of the biblical story, we begin to see something that will continue unfolding throughout Scripture:

12. La humanidad pecadora tiene necesidades que, en última instancia, no podemos suplir por nosotros mismos, y Dios es el único que puede proveer para ellas.

And this theme becomes even clearer in Genesis 22 as God tells Abraham to take Isaac—his son, his only son whom he loves—and offer him as a sacrifice.

As they’re walking up the mountain, Isaac asks his father: “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answers: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

When Abraham raises the knife in order to sacrifice his son, God stops him. Abraham looks up, and there is a ram caught in the thicket. God provided the sacrifice.

And Genesis 22:14 tells us:

Genesis 22:14 NBLA

Y Abraham llamó aquel lugar con el nombre de El Señor Proveerá, como se dice hasta hoy: “En el monte del Señor se proveerá.”

There’s something beautiful even in the language there. The Hebrew verb translated “provide” is the verb “to see.” The idea is not simply that God sees the need. He sees to the need. That’s part of the biblical picture behind what we mean by God’s providence.

So church,

13. En última instancia, existía una necesidad mucho mayor que la necesidad de Rut de cebada, o que nuestra necesidad de alimento, agua, recursos económicos o salud.

14. Necesitábamos un sacrificio por nuestro pecado, y esa es precisamente la provisión que jamás podríamos hacer por nosotros mismos.

We could not remove our guilt.

We could not satisfy the righteous judgment of God.

We could not reconcile ourselves to a holy God.

But the Lord provided.

And this time, the provision wasn’t a ram caught in a thicket. God provided His Son.

Jesus lived the righteous life we could never live. He went to the cross bearing the guilt of His people. He received the judgment our sins deserved. And before He died, He declared: “It is finished.”

Church, that’s sufficiency.

Nothing needs to be added to the finished work of Christ.

We don’t add our righteousness to His righteousness.

We don’t add our works to His sacrifice.

We don’t add our merit to His grace.

Christ is sufficient. And now we are justified by grace through faith because the sacrifice necessary for our salvation has already been provided.

And maybe that’s where the entire sermon brings us.

When God provides,

His provision protects us.

His provision is gracious.

His provision is personal.

And His provision is more than sufficient.

And nowhere do we see that more clearly than at the cross. What we could never provide for ourselves, God provided for us in His Son. And as we gather here this afternoon, we can say with confidence: in Christ, the Lord has provided.