There are no such things as coincidences in God’s Kingdom! When certain things happen in life, and you ask why, look around to see if you don’t see God’s hand in everything. Sometimes, you’re too close to the problem or issue, but if you step back, you’ll see it was all in His plan. Here’s were you see God’s hand in providing our future redeemer, Jesus. Let’s dig in….
Ruth 2 – Ruth Works in Boaz’s Field
Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.
2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”
Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.
4 While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.
“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.
5 Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”
6 And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7 She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”
8 Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”
10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”
11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”
13 “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”
14 At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.
15 When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. 16 And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”
17 So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket. 18 She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.
19 “Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband. That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”
22 “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”
23 So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth 2 NLT
Points to Ponder
- Boaz was Rahab’s son. Remember her from the Book of Joshua? She was the one that protected the Hebrew spies and, in turn, her family was spared from the destruction of Jericho. She married a Hebrew man named Salmon and had a son, Boaz. Looks like he learned hospitality and kindness from his mom.
- Ruth just happens to pick Boaz’s field to glean grain from. There was a Hebrew custom, laid out in Leviticus, about letting some grain fall so the poor can have it.
- It also just happens that Boaz is a relative of Naomi’s late husband Elimelech, which makes him a Kinsman-Redeemer. That, comes from Deuteronomy 25 which stipulates that a widow can marry a relative of her husband’s. Thus, it’s that next of kin that should marry the widow and provide for her. It carried on the family line.
- The meal they share is bread and wine, symbolizing the last supper that their future kinsman would celebrate with His disciples.
- Boaz symbolizes Jesus. He’s from Bethlehem. He’s a redeemer for Ruth and Naomi, like Jesus is our redeemer.
- Ruth, displays pure gratitude – no entitlement. Because some grain was left for the poor, some may have thought they were entitled to it. It makes a huge difference when you look at what you have with gratitude. Everything you have comes from God. You may think you earned it, but, no, God gave you the ability to earn it.
- Boaz, Rahab and Ruth are mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew. Which goes to show that Jesus had not one, but two Gentile, former pagan, women in His ancestral lineage.
God had a hand in your ancestry, too. I love history and I’ve dug into my family tree. I had my DNA done and the results helped me realize that God put me in this world, for such a time as this. You, too, my friend! When you look back at your 4 sets of great grandparents, where they came from and how they met, you’ll see God’s hand it. And that’s just one generation!
Divine appointments happen every day. Yes, we still have free will, but when you consistently look to God for guidance and follow it, you start seeing His orchestrating every little bit of your life.
How to Seek God’s Guidance in Everything You Do
- Get to know Jesus as a friend by inviting Him into your life with a repentant heart.
- Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit and ask Him daily for guidance and wisdom through prayer.
- Read the Bible DAILY! That’s how you get to know God and build your relationship with Him.
It’s time to get right with God!
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Soli Deo Gloria! To God Alone Be the Glory!
Top image by Sweet Publishing from FreeBibleImages.org, (CC BY-SA 3.0)
