RUTH 2:5-13 LIVING UNDER GOD'S WINGS OF PROTECTION

Ru 2:5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, "It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house." 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn." 10 So she fell on her face, bowed down 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?" 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 "The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." 13 Then she said, "Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants."

We must live by the grace of God

V5 The Lord led Ruth to the field of Boaz and then led Boaz to visit his field while Ruth was there.

V 6-7 Ruth's character too was of high quality, as the reaper foreman reported (v. 7) and as Boaz later testified he had learned earlier (v. 11). We should probably understand the last part of verse 7 to mean that Ruth had rested only a short time.  In other words, Ruth was a hard worker.

V8 1.  Boaz took the initiative TO PROVIDE

Grace means that God makes the first move to come to our aid, not because we deserve anything, but because He loves us and wants us for Himself. “We love, because He first loved us 1 John 4:19

1.     Boaz spoke to Ruth It was he who first spoke to her, for she would not have dared to speak to a man, especially one who was a stranger and “the lord of the harvest. What right did a widow and an alien have to address a great man like Boaz? Yet he interrupted his conversation with his foreman to speak to a poor stranger gleaning in his field.^[1]

When he told Ruth to continue gleaning in his field, he apparently meant that she should glean there throughout the several weeks of harvesting (cf. v. 23) barley (March–April) and wheat (June–July). Normally the gleaners would move in after the harvesters had left an area. But Ruth was invited to follow along with the servant girls as they worked in the reaping. ^[1]

2.     Boaz PROTECTED Ruth V 8-9

Ruth was not only a woman of faith; she was also a woman of great courage. But then, as Boaz said, she had come to this land to seek protection under the wings of the One True God, and protect her He did. The human instrument of that protection was Boaz, the mighty man of valor. I doubt that anyone gave serious thought to molesting this Moabite widow if it meant incurring the wrath of Boaz.

(4) Boaz encouraged Ruth (Ruth 2:10–13)

By his comments, Boaz revealed that although he had never seen her before, he knew a great deal about her. He knew she had cared well for her mother-in-law since the death of her husband. In addition, he knew that she had left her parents and her homeland to come with Naomi to a people she had not previously known. He pronounced a blessing upon Ruth, that God would reward her because she had sought His protection. Ruth expressed her appreciation for his kindness, knowing that she did not have the status of even his most lowly servant.

He said she had taken refuge under God’s wings, like a chick under the wings of its mother hen (cf. Ps. 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4; Matt. 23:37).

Ruth’s virtue goes far beyond getting up early and working late or extending her hand to the poor. Ruth’s great virtue is that she was a woman of great faith. She, like Abraham, left homeland and family to come to the land and the people God had promised to bless. She sought refuge and safety under God’s wings. What a marvelous woman she was.

Ruth neither looked back at her tragic past nor did she look at herself and consider her sorry plight. She fell at the feet of the master and submitted herself to him. She looked away from her poverty and focused on his riches. She forgot her fears and rested on his promises. What an example for God’s people today to follow!

Many people are miserable because they don’t obey the admonition of Hebrews 12:2: “fixing our eyes on Jesus. They spend so much time looking at themselves, their circumstances, and other people that they fail to do what Ruth did, namely, center their attention on their Master. Instead of resting in His perfections, they focus on their own imperfections. Instead of seeing His spiritual riches, they complain about their bankruptcy. They go to church “to get their needs met, instead of going to church to worship the God who is greater than any need. They need to heed the counsel of this little poem:

Look at self and be distressed,

Look at others and be depressed,

Look at Jesus and you’ll be blessed!

Lessons:

1.       Is my focus on me, or is it others Phil 2:1-4

2.       God’s providence doesn’t assist the idle

3.       God is involved in the lives of ordinary people

4.       No person is so far from the grace of God that they cannot be saved