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Introduction:
According to the Lexham Survey of Theology, providence is the governing power of God that oversees His creation and works out His plans for it.
What this means is that after creating the world, God continues to interact with His creation and govern it.
He didn’t just wind it up and let it go.
He continues to be intimately involved with His creation.
This word providence is related to the word provision as well.
God exerts His providence by offering provisions for His people.
He sovereignly rules over the earth as He works out His plans.
The difficult theology of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility leaves us in awe of how God works in our world and yet still has made man with the ability to make decisions.
Despite man’s ability to reason, God is ultimately sovereign and His providence has been clearly seen since creation.
Prior to the book of Ruth we have seen God redeem countless people from Adam and Eve to choosing the pagan Abraham.
From choosing the deceptive Jacob to choosing the murdering Moses.
God has been intimately involved in bringing His plan of redemption to fruition.
All of these people would go on to play a role in the coming of the Messiah.
Some directly and some indirectly.
Today we are going to see another situation in which God’s providence and sovereignty are clearly seen as He begins to unfold His plan.
Join me as we see God providentially working in the second chapter of Ruth.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Today we are going to look at three ways God’s providence is shown in not only this wonderful chapter, but also in our own lives.
The first is...
I. God’s Providence is... Sovereignly Orchestrated (1-13)
In verse 1 we are given a glimpse into the providence of God.
Here we see that the author of the book gives us a heads up about a relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s deceased husband.
This man’s name is Boaz and he is referred to as a worthy man.
At this point in the account this statement seems positive but we aren’t told exactly how this is going to play out to help Naomi and Ruth.
In verse two we are shown even further the humility of Ruth.
She tells Naomi that she will go and glean in the fields.
These ladies had a lot of needs at this point.
Acceptance, love, kindness - but the most pressing physical need for them was food.
Ruth takes initiative and offers to go and glean.
We don’t know why Naomi doesn’t go with her.
She may have been too tired from the journey as she would have been older than Ruth.
She may have been paralyzed by her depression.
We are not sure.
But what we know is that she approves of Ruth going out.
This could have been quite the dangerous trip for Ruth.
She could have been assaulted or even killed as a supposed enemy of Israel.
Despite the dangers ahead, Ruth goes in faith to glean.
Gleaning was something reserved for the poor, the widows, and foreigners.
It was not a job that was easy and it was not a job that was glorified.
Yet she humbles herself and takes initiative to go out and seek food for them.
The author wants us to know how God is using this difficult work of gleaning to bring about His plan - so much so that we see this word glean some 12 times in this chapter alone!
He also wants us to remember the physical manifestation of His providence in the person of Boaz whose name is mentioned 10 times in this chapter!
In this same verse we also see Ruth’s trust in God’s provisions.
She doesn’t say that she is going to go and glean wherever there is the most grain - or wherever the easiest job of gleaning is - she states that she will glean in the field in which she finds favor.
She is seeking God’s favor through God’s people.
This is more of a prayer than anything else.
She is lifting up her petition to God - that He show her favor in the field in which she gleans.
Then we get to verse 3.
She set out and she happens to come to a part of the field belonging to Boaz.
I love this word happened here.
It is a word that means more of a roll of the dice.
Why would the author use this term?
Wouldn’t it seem to undermine God’s providence and sovereignty?
Not at all.
Instead, it shows that everything is in God’s hands and under His sovereign control.
Even the things that seem to be by chance.
The lot was a form of “rolling the dice” per se.
God is sovereign over all.
It is not by chance that Ruth ends up in the field of Boaz.
It is being divinely and sovereignly orchestrated.
What is it like when your loved ones come home?
How do you all greet one another?
Do you start with something like “The Lord be with you!” and do you get a reply like “The Lord bless you!” Ok, maybe your home doesn’t exactly look like that but it is something to strive for!
Obviously we see a man who has a good relationship with his workers.
He seems to have quite the gift of leadership as we see the respect he is shown by his workers as well.
And like any good leader, Boaz notices something different after he greets his workers.
He notices a foreign woman gleaning.
He inquires about her and he is told of her diligence and that she came with Naomi.
At this point the situation could go one of two ways.
He could respond harshly and with judgment - like many in Israel would.
Or he could respond graciously.
Let’s look at the next few verses and see what happens:
Boaz starts off calling her his daughter.
This is a remarkable thing because it is a familial term.
It is a term of protection and love.
Despite their ethnic differences, he wants to make sure she knows he will protect and provide for her.
This is seen even more in verse 9 where he lets her know that he has even told the young men not to touch her.
Not only were they not to touch or harm her - they were to give her water to drink!
Most of us today don’t see how much favor that is being shown here.
In a world where women would usually draw water for the men, Boaz let Ruth know that the men would draw water for her.
He was showing her great honor here.
Ruth obviously realizes that the way she is being treated by Boaz isn’t what she would have expected.
She falls to her face in humility and thankfulness and reminds him of her foreign status as a Moabite.
Yet he speaks kindly, respectfully, tenderly, and even admirably to her.
He speaks of all he knows about her and is appreciative of her love for Naomi and even moreso - for her love for God.
He even prays a blessing over her from Yahweh!
His prayerful blessing asks for both blessings and protection as he uses the blessing of being under the wings of God which is a beautiful picture of being intimately close with God so that He is covering her.
This idea of being under the shadow or shelter of God’s wings is seen at least 6 times in the Psalms with one example being Psalm 91:4
You can see the protection of God clearly portrayed in this analogy.
We see in verse 13 that Ruth is comforted and encouraged by Boaz’ kind words.
Brothers and sisters, do you see God sovereignly orchestrating this entire ordeal so far.
Ruth has “happened” to go to a certain field that belonged to Naomi’s relative.
She “happened” to find favor from this man despite the fact that many in Israel would have shunned or even assaulted her.
I want to remind us today that the same God sovereignly orchestrating things then is the same God sovereignly orchestrating things in the world today.
God’s providence is seen throughout each of our lives my friends.
Sometimes we are in a season like Naomi had in chapter 1.
Sometimes life is difficult.
In difficult times we may think God doesn’t even seem to be present much less be sovereign and providential.
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