Sermon Tone Analysis

*Intro*

If you were at the Summer Retreat this year, you may remember the story I shared about a gift I received from a friend of mine one Christmas.

When I opened it, I was embarrassed because I couldn’t tell what it was.

It looked like some sort of stitching.

It was small and could fit in the palm of my hands.

But the threads were all a mess, mangled together.

I was like, “Thanks!

What is it?”

My friend was mad and flipped it over and then I was shocked to see an angel.

From the bottom it was a mess, but from the upperside, it was a beautiful piece of art!

It all depended on your perspective.

This is what we mean by God’s providence.

God is the Master Weaver who takes the threads of our lives, which often look like a tangled mess to us and is putting together something beautiful for His purposes and glory.

Sometimes we wonder, “What is God’s will for my life?”

We may worry about our future, about next steps we have to take and sometimes about our school or work or financial burdens.

What can we bank on as believers?

We can bank on God’s providence!

The title of the message today is “God in my working: the hidden hand of Providence.”

I want to look at the way the providence of God works in the lives of God’s people.

Remember the Providence of God is one of the themes of the book of Ruth.

When we say providence, we mean the coming together of God’s sovereignty and His goodness.

He is supreme, above all things, all powerful, yet He is personal as He orchestrates in the lives of humanity.

God is in the details and He uses our choices (even our mistakes) for His purposes.

How it all works together is a mystery, but we can fully rely on it.

Ruth does not know it yet, but God is weaving the tangled threads of her life together for His purposes.

Ruth 2 will teach us a lot about God’s providence.

First of all:

*I.   **We must depend on God’s providence for our guidance** (Ruth 2:1-3).*

Let’s pick up the story in Ruth 1:22.

The odd couple from Moab, Naomi and Ruth, make it all the way back home to Bethlehem.

And wouldn’t you know it, just in time for the barley harvest!

This means it is around late March~/early April and the barley harvest lasted about a month or so, to be followed by the wheat harvest.

Just in time Naomi!

The only problem is that they are flat broke, without a male provider and going hungry.

Look at Ruth 2:1.

The narrator stops the story to tell us about a “relative of her husband’s.”

He wants to arouse our curiosity and build suspense.

Have you ever watched or read a love story and the girl is shown in the beginning of the movie with some jerk, but one day as she is walking, she bumps into another guy.

Their eyes meet, the exchange awkward smiles and we as the audience wonder if something is going to develop between the two.

This is what the author is doing here by introducing Boaz.

We know three things about him.

First of all, Naomi knows him through her marriage to Elimelech.

This is somebody from her deceased husband’s side.

“Clan” is something bigger than immediate family, but smaller than “tribe.”

So kind of like a distant relative.

Secondly, he is a “worthy man.”

Other translations say: NIV: “man of standing” NASU: “Man of great wealth” KJV: “a mighty man of wealth” NLT: “wealthy and influential man.”

This term is simply a title of high social standing.

It means he is worthy of respect, trust and imitation.

He is a powerful person.

He is someone whose wealth and high reputation in Bethlehem has given him a strong influence among his peers.

This is description of his character.

He is wealthy and he runs a good business and knows how to handle his money.

He can get things done and delivers results.

Boaz was a mighty man of valor, capable in his community, and lived an exemplary lifestyle.

Lastly, we know his name is Boaz.

Scholars are not sure on what exactly his name means, but it could be something along the lines of “In him is strength.”

What a contrast to the other men we know in this story!

Elimelech did not fare well, Mahlon and Chilion “puny and wasting away” did not do well either, but BOAZ! Bo is the man.

He’s the man’s man.

Pastor Mark Driscoll says, “Boaz is the dude of dudes.

He doesn’t own a sweater vest, drink decaf or listen to Mariah Carey or the Spice Girls.”

And he’s single.

What’s up with that?

Maybe he had a really high voice or something.

Back to the story!

Look at Ruth 2:2.

Ruth the Moabite is the title given to Ruth.

The author is uses this title 5x to describe Ruth out of 12x where her name is mentioned.

This is to remind us that she is a foreigner and not belonging to Israel.

She is from a bad town, bad background, and is a brand new believer.

She makes an unexpected announcement.

Remember two of the primary characters are women, so they are going to talk as we begin chapter 2. Ruth says she wants to go out and work.

They are flat broke, with no money in their pocket, they’re getting hungry, the fridge is bare and there is no food on the shelf.

Let me explain gleaning.

Gleaning was a right guaranteed by the law of Moses (Lev.

19:9-10; 23:22; Deut.

24:19-22).

It is equivalent to the “Welfare to Work” program or “Social Services,” the “Food Stamps” program.

God said, “I’m giving you the land, but really you are just the managers and I am the owner.

When it is time for harvest, I want you to leave an edge around their fields unharvested for the immigrant, the poor, the orphan, the oppressed, the alien and the needy, so that they can take some of the food home for their family.

The poor were not simply to depend on handouts from the state.

They were allowed to pick up the stray scraps that were left behind.

The owners were even forbidden from passing a second time through their vineyards to harvest grapes missed or dropped the first time (Lev.

19:10).

Same provision applied to grain fields and even olive orchards and vineyards (Deut.

24:19-22).

The specifics of it went like this.

The reapers grasped the stalk with the left hand and with their right hand, cut off the grain with a sickle.

When the armload of accumulated ears became unmanageable, he laid them in rows beside the standing stalks for women to tie in bundles.

Later they would bring a cart and pick up the bundles and haul it off to a place called the threshing floor.

Once it was hauled off, gleaners can and pick up any scraps left behind.

Since prudent reapers worked carefully, the gleaning of fallen grain was mere subsistence living, much like trying to survive today by recycling aluminum cans.

Gleaning was hard work and it was hot work.

This is not a picnic that she was asking to attend.

Long work, hot work, hard work with little grain at the end is usually the outcome.

Like today, just because the law was in place did not mean that people actually obeyed it.

Lots of owners prohibited gleaning and if some allowed gleaners to come, they were often ridiculed, taunted, and even verbally and physically assaulted.

Apparently, Ruth knows of this law, yet shows remarkable initiative and courage.

She is taking incredible risks in order to implement the devotion affirmed earlier (Ruth 1:16-17).

She models a quality of devotion which seizes the opportunity before it without presuming upon any rights or privileges.

She knows she is on the lowest rung of the social ladder, but trusting God regardless.

Interestingly, Naomi does not decide to go with her.