Ira Baptist Church
February 8

      • Isaiah 53.1-2ESV

      • Isaiah 53.3-4ESV

      • Isaiah 53.5-6ESV

  • I Stand Amazed

      • Psalms 130.1-5ESV

      • Psalms 130.6-8ESV

  • Out of the Depths
  • The Lord is My Salvation
  • The Lord is My Salvation
  • Some of you are very excited about a major sporting event that is coming up later today.
    That’s right, Olympic curling - Sweden vs. the USA at 1:00 this afternoon! Don’t miss it!
    In all seriousness, some of you out there are football fans, and as the Patriots and the Seahawks prepare to face off this evening, before the game officially begins an official will bring the team captains together, and as he flips a coin the captain of the Seahawks will call what? Heads or tails.
    And we normally describe that process as an exercise of chance.
    But what is chance, anyway? What amount of influence does chance have on that coin toss?
    I appreciate the way the late Dr. R.C. Sproul spoke of this very topic. He used it in reference to how many believe that the universe as it is came into existence by chance.
    But of course, we know that chance cannot do anything - chance is not a thing. Everything in our universe is a product of cause and effect. Even the coin toss later today - chance won’t make the coin land on heads or tails - its a matter of pressure, speed of rotation, height of the toss, density of where it first lands, etc...
    We use chance to speak of mathematic probability, but statistics and probability don’t determine anything, do they?
    We say that often - when something remarkable happens - “what are the chances of that?”
    We bring that into the world of our life experiences - when we find a spouse, for instance, and the love story is just remarkable to us - what are the chances that we would wind up where we are?
    Well, that idea comes up in this next chapter of Ruth. Where Ruth just so happens to find herself in the right place on the right day.
    And this passage before us is one of those that illustrates greatly the Providence of God. You see, nothing happens by chance. God is not a God of probabilities or gambling - he is the God, as Ephesians 1:11 says, works all things according to the counsel of his will.
    And as Romans 8:28 so famously says, works all things together for good for his people, according to his purposes.
    In your life, there is nothing wildly out of control, random, or meaningless - there are no maverick molecules in this universe.

    What is chance? When we take refuge under the Lord, we see that all things happen not by chance, but for a reason.

    By Chance - vs. 1-7

    Setting the stage - vs. 1
    Ruth 2:1 ESV
    Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
    Relative of Elimelech, Boaz.
    A “worthy” man.
    Of a lion, “vigorous”
    Of God, “omnipotent”
    Of men, “powerful, influential, well-respected”
    Now note, this is a narrator’s note - not Naomie telling Ruth, “Go here because there is a good man who might make a good husband.”
    Notice Ruth’s words in verse 2
    Ruth 2:2 ESV
    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.”
    What was the purpose of Ruth’s effort in going to the field? Well, it was to get food for her and Naomi! It was, as this whole story began, a couple of people just trying to make it.
    Gleaning: a provision in the law and in the culture of Israel for the poor to be able to follow the ones harvesting the crops to pick up anything they had left behind - whether scraps from a bundle, or the less-desirable produce that may otherwise be left to compost.
    Ruth is just trying to make it, not find a husband.
    After all, the whole premise of Naomi trying to discourage Ruth from coming with her was this - “There’s no chance I can provide you with a husband or a future.” But Ruth came anyway, because she loved Naomi and had learned to love the Lord God.
    Ruth 2:3 ESV
    So she 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.
    “she happened to come to the part of the field...”
    The field’s of landowners in that day - not divided by fences or hedgerows, usually just a stone indicating the corner of one piece over against another. Essentially one giant field, which to Ruth would have been a total tossup of where to go. Likely, she just went where there were workers who didn’t give her a hard time.
    There is where that coin toss comes in, right? It’s just by chance. No, of course not. The writer wants us to know that to Ruth’s eye, this was a stroke of good luck - but in the story of God redeeming his people, there was no chance involved.
    Ruth 2:4 ESV
    And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.”
    A note about the worthiness of Boaz, and the righteous way of a leader.
    Ephesians 6:9 ESV
    Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
    Ruth 2:5–6 ESV
    Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

    Taking Refuge - vs. 8-13

    Ruth 2:8–9 ESV
    Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
    Immediately the day gets brighter for Ruth. And understand, her thoughts toward Boaz at this point would not have been as a possible suitor - but as someone who could either show her favor, or show her the door.
    Ruth 2:10–11 ESV
    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?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
    Ruth 2:12 ESV
    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!”
    The pivotal points for Ruth’s life, which will dramatically turn and change from this point on, were two things.
    Showing mercy to Naomi
    Taking refuge in the Lord
    Psalm 91:2–4 ESV
    I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
    Ephesians 2:12–13 ESV
    remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

    What’s Leftover - vs. 14-16

    Ruth 2:14–16 ESV
    And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
    Feasting at the table under the shadow of God’s wings
    Revelation 3:20 ESV
    Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
    Psalm 23:5–6 ESV
    You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

      • Ruth 2:1ESV

      • Ruth 2:2ESV

      • Ruth 2:3ESV

      • Ruth 2:4ESV

      • Ephesians 6:9ESV

      • Ruth 2:5–6ESV

      • Ruth 2:8–9ESV

      • Ruth 2:10–11ESV

      • Ruth 2:12ESV

      • Psalm 91:2–4ESV

      • Ephesians 2:12–13ESV

      • Ruth 2:14–16ESV

      • Revelation 3:20ESV

      • Psalm 23:5–6ESV

  • How Great Thou Art
Ira Baptist Church
1 member