RUTH 2:14-23 GOD'S PROVIDENTIAL CARE

Ru 2:14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. 15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 "Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her." 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, "Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one 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 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!" And Naomi said to her, "This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives." 21 Ruth the Moabitess said, "He also said to me, 'You shall stay 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, and that people do not meet you in any other field." 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law. (NKJV)

 1.     Gods continual care through Boaz 2:14-16

He is gracious to her, letting her dip the bread in the vinegar

Boaz invites her to eat, he serves her personally, some might have been resentful and wondered why she was eating with them, but when Boaz serves her, they know it is okay.

His provision is abundant

Boaz gives her preferential Treatment

2.       God’s abundant contribution for Naomi through Ruth

By allowing her to work, Boaz preserved Ruth's dignity, but by providing generously for her he lightened her duties. The fact that Boaz permitted Ruth to eat with his household servants was another blessing from the Lord. Boaz's abundant grace reminds us of God's. It was a mark of his godliness.

She works hard

Working in a hot field is hard, then she has to beat out what she gleaned, she has already worked till evening

Got about 10 days to 2 weeks of food, about 30-50 lbs of grain

She wasn’t selfish, she kept part back for her mother in law

God’s providence for the hard working is shown here.  Mt 6:25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Mt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. The birds of the air are provided for but work for it

Ps 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

3.       God’s counsel from Naomi V19-23

Ps 41:1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

Her bitterness is now replaced with praise

Naomi had hope because of who Boaz was—a near kinsman who was wealthy and influential

When Ruth shared with Naomi what Boaz had said, Naomi’s hope grew even stronger because the words of Boaz revealed his love for Ruth and his desire to make her happy.

God has shown kindness to the living and the dead, by showing kindness to Naomi and Ruth

He is close enough to be a kinsman redeemer, did not have to be only a brother of the man who died.

Naomi twice blessed Ruth's benefactor (vv. 19-20). She prayed that Yahweh would bless Boaz who had been a source of blessing to her and Ruth. Every prayer in this book is a prayer of blessing, and God answered every one of them

Naomi then explained to Ruth the law of “the kinsman redeemer” (Lev. 25:47–55).

The beauty of Ruth's character shines forth in verse 21. She did not view her relationship with Boaz as a way out of her own responsibility to provide for herself and her aged mother-in-law. Instead she rejoiced that she could continue to discharge her duty in safety.

Naomi knows that God has put the right man in the right place at the right time because of Ruth’s obedience

It is encouraging to see the changes that have taken place in Naomi because of what Ruth did. God used Ruth to turn Naomi’s bitterness into gratitude, her unbelief into faith, and her despair into hope. One person, trusting the Lord and obeying His will, can change a situation from defeat to victory.

Ruth’s faith in God’s Word led her to the field of Boaz. The love of Boaz for Ruth compelled him to pour out his grace upon her and meet her every need

Lessons:

 1.       When we show obedience to God’s word His character is displayed

a.       He shows justice to the widow and orphan through us

b.      Boaz displays the character of God to these women through his provision

2.       The Love of God is to transcend all barriers

a.       God’s prohibition is only along spiritual barriers not racial, or status

Ac 17:26 "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 "so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;