God's Providence
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Today’s message is about the working of God in our lives, focused truly on the work God does even when we can not see or understand.
I pray today that our walk through Ch.2 of Ruth will show you a few things about God Providence
Providence follows Loyalty - we discussed this two weeks ago in our message on loyalty
God’s true plans are NEVER thwarted by anything on this earth or in heaven
God is always in control
We are called and encouraged to live our lives with trust in God
- Knowing that He loves, cares and provides according to His nature
God’s provision will lead you to the place that He intended
We should always yield our present circumstances to God — we should never fear the world for He is in full and complete control.
Image with me a few minutes if we were walking along side Naomi and Ruth
We don’t have the option to read the whole story ahead of time and see the outcome
What would you believe about Ruth?
Her loyalty is above comparison
She leaves her home land to travel with her mother in law to a land of Jews
She stands by not knowing any of the future
I can imagine she had doubts and was scared and feared the unknown - I just want to whisper to her I know the end of the story and it is amazing --- good advise for us today
The sad circumstances that you are in are hard —stay strong - God is working in the background
Imagine — famine, death of loved ones, no promise of another husband or provider - just two women in a strange land
Long travel alone just two women seeking a better life
Being hungry not knowing when food would be available — no man to provide - she is the only one to provide for her and Naomi
Learning that long day picking up scraps is the daily life for the foreseeable future — probably not a smile producing circumstance
Poor Ruth — a sad life at present
She know that she must accept charity to survive --- I have never really been in that place — food is NOT guaranteed
YET we have the ability to see the whole BOOK of RUTH and we know the amazing story that it tells — but to Ruth reality is present time
This is our message today
--- God provides and has an amazing plan for all of us —
we are in the present also —
we tend to see only what is around us daily and must work to trust that God will bring good to us to....
God is always working behind the scenes.
Naomi Guides Ruth To Boaz: 1-2
Naomi Guides Ruth To Boaz: 1-2
Lets open our Bibles to Ch 2 of Ruth and walk through the verses together
Naomi and Ruth are likely sitting together in the early morning, talking about food and life for today.
Naomi likely explains to Ruth about the harvest and the provision of the Jewish culture to provide
This was part of Jewish Law it is part of the Levitical Law
LEV 19:9-10 ““When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
Naomi is likely teaching Ruth about the ways of the Jewish people
Look at verse Ruth 2:2 “And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.””
Naomi gives Ruth the blessing to GO
Naomi tells Ruth to about Boaz, a relative of the family
Our hero has arrived in the story.
Gleaning the Fields: 3
Gleaning the Fields: 3
Gleaning the fields
According to the Book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, farmers should leave the edges of their fields unharvested (pe'ah), should not pick up that which was dropped (gleanings), and should not harvest any over-looked produce that had been forgotten when they harvested the majority of a field.
This was a way for God to provide for the poor and allow charity.
God produced the harvest
The farmer would reap the reward and tithe to the Temple
and the needy would be able to have food
I can find no record that during this time in history any of the other cultures provided like this for their community.
it is also notable that the charity involved work to receive it, which may be a message for another time about our culture today.
as a Christian today we are to be givers
this concept is a message that is relevant today.
Enjoy your harvest, but leave allowance for others
God Guides Ruth: 3
God Guides Ruth: 3
Our story of Ruth is going to change here in Ch 2, we will move from Naomi and to Ruth as the main person and focus
Naomi gives the blessing and now Ruth will take the stage.
Lets look at the word HAPPENED in verse 3
DID It just happen?
or is this God’s providence
We need to be reminded again that God has a planned and it is always organized to lead to HIS PURPOSE.
God is never the God of change or reaction.
God has a plan
Ruth is lead by God’s provision to the FIELDS that belong to BOAZ --- the exact person that Naomi had introduced to her earlier in the morning.
How many times to we miss the “chance” happenings in our lives?
Carpe Diem — Seize the day --- Seize the opportunities
Remember when Paul prayed for us in Ephesians to have the eyes of our hearts open. this is part of what he was praying for ....
Keep our Chrisitan hearts open for opportunities, do not ever be disheartened for GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL.
ILLUSTRATION:
on vacation I read a few books and one of them was called Bruchko --- about a missionary that brought Christ to a tribe in the rain forest. The whole story is about the missionary learning to see God working --- speared in the leg and barely surviving and coming back to the tribe again but this time ONE man takes an interest and brings him in to talk --- the missionary sees an opportunity with banana leafs to introduce the Bible and then circumstance after circumstance Jesus is revealed to the whole tribe.
The point is this is not a story about the ancient bible times or even the 1960 with this missionary BUT a story that has effect on our life today.
Boaz and the Reapers: 4-7
Boaz and the Reapers: 4-7
Boaz appears for the first time in our series
Boaz is a man of God look at verse 4 --- Boaz is a man that understands that God is foremost.
His greeting to his workers “The Lord be with you” and his workers know God — The Lord bless you.
We need to see that this is a GOD SITUATION — GOD IS WORKING
All the people that morning
and BOAZ notices RUTH
BOAZ knows of RUTH
and this is good for had this event not happened at this place at this time Boaz may have been RUTHLESS
this is another GOD moment.
God directing the eyes of HIS PEOPLE
Boaz Protection 8-13
Boaz Protection 8-13
Verses 8-13
Boaz goes to Ruth and blesses her
offers protection
offers provision
offers connection
Look at the next few verses especially 10
you can feel the relief in Ruth
She falls on her face --- you can almost feel her emotions open and the warmth of love enter
Ruth has been doing all the right things, but not getting great results
BUT right here we can feel with Ruth that BLESSING - That Relief -
That love that was likely distance to Ruth for many years
Oh how we want that in our own lives in times of struggle.
Christ lives in us. Christ is always there. Christ always obeys the Father and works for HIS purpose.
Our times may be low at times, but GOD will bring it all to GOOD
We must believe that
We must live that out every day.
Boaz: God and Family 14-15
Boaz: God and Family 14-15
We see in verse 14-15 that Boaz GOES even further in his blessing
This is not simply providing food
Providing protection for Ruth
But now he is offering fellowship
Gosh I pray that I am making the pathway to Jesus clear for all of us today.
We have all had times of bitterness, experienced loyalty, been moved to a place that is not the place that we want to be
We have all been sad, hurt, tear-filled, and have felt there is no hope
that this new time in our life is our new normal
BUT TAKE HEART
Christ is here
Christ just “happens” to lead us to a new place
a negative becomes a positive and changes our life.
We have lost a loved one, but reconnected with another
We have felt alone, and we get a cheerful call
Remember my dear loved ones GOD IS ALWAYS WORKING
Redeemer
Redeemer
The end of chapter two is setting up our December messages
Before we go look at verse 20
Ruth 2:20 “And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.””
Naomi states a blessing for Boaz --- for his kindness — Naomi
Let this word be in your mediations, your time for Christ this week
One WORD REDEEMER
Lets pray.