Refuge Under God’s Wings

Refuge Under God’s Wings

Ruth 2

Ruth 1:20: Do not call me Naomi [which means “sweet”]; call me Mara [which means “bitter”], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.  I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty.  Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?

Main Idea:  By faith let us seek and find refuge under God’s wings.

I. Ruth’s Faith

 Ruth’s faith is in contrast to those around her:

  • Her ethnic heritage

  • Naomi

  • General Israelite culture during the time of the Judges

Evidence of Ruth’s Faith:

  • Ruth’s faith responds to God’s Word

  • Ruth’s faith leads to action

  • Ruth’s faith is seen in her godly character

Leviticus 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.

Faith in Yahweh does not mean being lazy and waiting around for him to act.  Ruth tries to make the very best of her situation that she can, trusting God to be good to her as she does so.

~ Tony Merida, Ruth for You

Ruth 3:11: And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

Proverbs 31:10: An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

Ruth 2:12: The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!

II. Boaz’s Favor

Ruth 2:1: Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

Ruth 2:10: Then she fell on her face, bowing 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?”

Ruth 2:13: Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

Boaz’s favor is generous:

  • He instructs her to stay in his field (2:8)

  • He instructs her to stay with his young women servants (2:8)

  • He invites her to drink from what the men have drawn from the well (2:9)

  • He warns his workers against sexual harassment (2:9)

  • He includes her in the meal for his servants (2:14)

  • He provides more than she could eat (2:14)

  • He gives her wine, not just water (2:14)

  • He gives permission to “glean among the sheaves” (2:15)

  • He tells the servants to “pull out bundles for her” (2:16)  

Jesus, in his kindness, has sought the outcast, has given us refuge, has fed us at his table, and has become our Redeemer.

~ Tony Merida, Ruth for You

III. Naomi’s Fortune

Ruth 2:20: May he [that is, Boaz] be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!

Ruth 2:3: So she [Ruth] set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.

By excessively attributing Ruth’s good fortune to chance, he [the author] forces the reader to sit up and take notice, to ask questions concerning the significance of everything that is transpiring . . . . In reality he is screaming, ‘See the hand of God at work here!’  The same hand that had sent the famine (1:1) and later provided food (1:6) is the hand that brought Naomi and Ruth to Bethlehem precisely at the beginning of the harvest (1:22) and has now guided Ruth to that portion of the field belonging specifically to Boaz

~ Daniel Block, Ruth

This is not some impersonal fate or destiny at work here.  This is not an accident.  It is nothing less than the hand of a personal, loving God who is always working quietly and continuously through the ordinary things of life to bring His blessing to His people.

Ruth 2:10: Then she fell on her face, bowing 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?”

Ruth is a picture of how we should respond to God’s undeserved, generous grace. 

•        She recognizes that she is in need.

•        She recognizes that she is undeserving.

•        She responds with humility and gratitude as she accepts his gracious provision.

So let us fall on our faces, bow before the Lord, confess our unworthiness, take refuge under the wings of God, and be astonished at his grace.

~ John Piper, Ruth: Under the Wings of God

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