Finding Favour through faith: – Courtesy Benny Ho:
Let’s read Ruth chapter 2
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field
2 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour.”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered.
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
13 “May I continue to find favour in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20 “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”
23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Chapter 2 is the most exciting part from the book of Ruth “Finding Favour through faith”
If we can derive the message from this chapter, we can hold on to it for life time. How can we receive God’s favour in our life?
This is a true story about a lady in the year 1965. One day she saw a dream, and in that dream, she felt that God is speaking to her to write encouraging verses. She calls her children and grandchildren to bring empty coca cola bottles and some papers. Then she spent the entire night writing promises from the bible and rolled the paper and started putting it in the empty coca cola bottle and sealed it up. There were around 200 bottles, then she goes to the beach in Florida and allows the bottle to float in the beach. After some weeks, people started contacting her as she had put her name and address as well on the notes with promises as it was useful for them. She died and 9 years later, she received a letter from a lady, “Dear ma’am, I was planning to commit suicide, because there was no money, but when I went to the beach to attempt suicide, I got this bottle and I read the bible verse on the note in it and decided against my decision.
A coke bottle became a hope bottle. How would this happen? 9 years prior a note was written for a person whom God wanted to speak then?
We believe in the God of providence., he knows our need even before we face it. A God who sees us, knows our needs even before we ask.
As we move to Ruth chapter 2, the writer inspired by the holy spirit introduces a new character. In verse 1, we read about Boaz a relative of Naomi. A man of standing. The writer is setting the stage for Boaz. Where God is going to use a man of great wealth. Boaz means “IN HIM HIS STRENGTH”. His name speaks about being a Godly man. He was a man of great respect. we see this in verse 4
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered.
Who loves or speaks well about their bosses? we always find faults but here the case was different.
Boaz is a prophetic figure of our Lord Jesus Christ, “In whom our strength lies”. He is our strength in times of our weakness. Our help in times of trouble. In Boaz is the prophetic picture of our lord Jesus Christ, Ruth is the prophetic picture of church and Naomi the prophetic picture of Israel. Therefore, the Church and Israel will find strength in Boaz, that is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us see how Boaz met Ruth. It was not a human intervention, but by divine appointment.
So, it goes in this way, Ruth left her past and started looking for the present. In verse 2, Ruth decides to go to the fields for their survival.
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour.”
Generous provision of the LAW was the Law of gleaning (leftover). Leviticus 19:9-10
9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
He is God of compassion, he commanded his people that during harvest if something may have fallen or is leftover, do not go for another round.
Generally, we don’t want to leave anything behind. But God says leave it for the poor, leave it for others.
I believe we all have attended weddings and we don’t want to miss the costly dishes, even though our stomach is full, we will at least taste, but will not let it go. God commands that you let it go, you got what you wanted, leave it for others. But our mentality is, “all is mine”. We believe in a merciful God therefore he lets it go.
In verse 2
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour.”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.
We believe in a Happening God. Ruth just went to a field to glean the leftover, but the bible specifically mentions it “As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.”
God made it happen, it was not a chance or accident or luck, it was a divine appointment arranged by a God of providence.
Providence means, pro – i.e. before and evidence means to see. God in his providence sees our need before we see or know. he engineers circumstances according to their needs.
Many times, we use this word ‘LUCKY’, it is not ‘LUCKY’ but ‘BLESSED’. God is watching over us. Ruth ends up in the right field and at the right time when Boaz visits the field. Right time, Right place, that is the God of providence. Behind all this, which we call coincidence / luck there is a God who is working in the background for us.
Ruth in verse 1 went out to the field, to find favour in someone’s field. What is favour?
Favour is, God in his grace gives us something which we do not deserve.
Let us see 4 things which Boaz gave to Ruth out of favour / Grace. The way Jesus Christ gave it to us.
- Boaz gave Ruth a place to glean.
We know that Boaz took personal interest. In verse 15, Boaz took a special interest.
15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
Ruth did not deserve it. It was Boaz who made the first move, in verse 8. Boaz called Ruth, Daughter.
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me.
Not only that, he told her not to go in any other field. Ruth got what Boaz’s servant girls did not get.
In the same way, we did not deserve it, but Jesus called all of us to this place.
1 John 4 :19
19 We love because he first loved us.
We don’t deserve anything, but Jesus came to us.
Romans 5:6
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
While we were powerless, like a dead body, we couldn’t do anything, Christ died for us. That is unmerited favour / Grace. God demonstrated his love on the cross for you and me.
The one who knew no sin became sin. And we all have been offered a place in Christ.
- Boaz gave Ruth protection. (Verse 8 & 9)
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me
9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
A young widow, who is in danger in an open field. Boaz offered protection and asked her to stay in the filed. In the same way Jesus Christ offers us protection. If we stay in his field, we are protected.
In verse 8 we read, stay with the women who work for me. It means to say that, stay with the community. There is protection when we stay within a community. If we isolate ourselves, we detach ourselves from the body of Christ. Church is a body of Jesus Christ. If you isolate yourselves, it is like one part of the body is missing. If we detach from the body and want to do our own thing, there is a danger. Stay in this field with these women. There is safety in community, that is the reason, we have Church service, Cell group, Prayer walk, CBR. There is safety in a community.
Have you eaten a banana from a branch? You must first detach it, remove it and then eat it. Satan, always tries to detach you from the body of Christ, isolate you. If you are not being part of anything, which we have in Church / body of Christ, it is like you are detaching yourselves, which is dangerous. Boaz gave Ruth Protection. Church gives us protection.
- Boaz also gave Ruth Provision
Besides offering Ruth a Place, He also offered physical protection. Boaz also offered her provision of refreshment in Verse 9
And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
Did Ruth deserve this, No? it was all because of Grace and favour of God.
One thing, we should notice from Ruth is that she knew her place, she knew who she was and never presumed. When Boaz treated her with such a favour, Ruth said in Verse 10
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
We love to be with such type of people, you do little for them, but they look at it as a big favour. But there are a few people, whom you do a favour, and they feel that it is their right? They never even bother to say thank you. But Ruth was not like that.
Put yourself in Ruth’s position, and if Boaz wanted to do such favour for us. We may think, what he is up to? Most of us take favour as granted instead of feeling gratitude inside. It is Pride, we think that we deserve it, I deserve it, I own it and will fight for my rights. That is a forgotten Favour. Boaz also offered her a meal. If your CEO offers a meal with him, what will be your attitude?
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain.
What a prophetic verse !!, Boaz offered Bread and Wine. Jesus came 2000 years ago, and he gave his broken body and shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Boaz also offered roasted grain, In the same way that Jesus became a burnt offering on behalf of us. Will we take him as the bread of our life?
Church, God not only blesses us, but he blesses us in abundance. In verse 14
She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
The attitude was, I am blessed and let me bless others. All that she received was only because of favour and unmerited Grace. Similarly, Jesus did it for us.
- Boaz not only gave her Provision, he gave Ruth in plenty. In verse 15
15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
Let us not think that she got it from a charity. They purposely dropped it.
It is the Same way God works for us. He engineers things to bless us. The funny thing is that, when we are blessed, we think we were so clever, and that is the reason I am in this place, this position and others did not get it. Forgotten Grace? We forget that there is someone watching over us. There is someone who is dropping purposely things for us to pick up. When you pickup, don’t forget that it was NOT your ability but it was God’s generosity. Someone is watching over us. He is a giver of Grace and favour. Have you been blessed by God in recently? Let us thank God for it.
In the entire chapter 2, we read all about God’s favour.
One day of favour is more than 6 hours of labour.
If we have favour of God, our family can be established, our business can be established, our church can be established.
Four things on “How can we attract the favour of God?”
- Develop a Submissive Attitude / Spirit. (Humble Spirit)
Ruth developed it from her mother in law. she always asked permission from Naomi.
If you want to attract the favour of God, submit to authorities which God has placed over you, it may be your parent, husband, teachers, Government, our Pastors etc.
James writes this – God opposes the proud but gives Grace to the humble. If we have a submissive spirit, it attracts God’s favour. Whenever we read from the bible, where ‘x’ has found favour, the secret for the same was all about submission. (Even Nehemiah says, “only if it pleases the king”). Develop a Submissive spirit. If you are a boss and you want to promote an employee. Whom you are going to promote? Is it someone who want to do something his own way, own time or is it someone who can flow with the team in a mutual submission.
If our church wants to give a leadership position, Are we are not going to go for a lone ranger, who wants to do things in his own way or are we going to give it to someone who works with the leadership, and understands the church vision? we will look for someone who has a submissive spirit , who will work with us, as a team.
Some points on Submission:
Submission gives me the ability to deny myself.
It helps me to put aside my own interest for the sake of others.
We will let go our own rights for the rights of others.
The decision of submission will set us free, big things will look small for us because we are ok to let it go. If we don’t have submission, we will not let it go, we will fight till the end. (Two church members fighting for a parking lot, both don’t want to let it go. What can we say then?)
Sometimes, we must let it go even if we are right. Free to let it go for the sake of Christ and acknowledging that God is in control of it.
If we submit to only what we like, it is no longer submission. The real test of submission is to submit when we don’t like it.
Obedience and Submission is two different things. Obedience is an action, submission is an attitude. You can obey without submitting or submitting without obeying. (A child was asked by the teacher to go and sit on the last bench. She goes angrily and sits on the last bench, but she says to herself, Teacher you may think that I am sitting here in the last bench but in my heart, I am still standing)
God is looking for both Obedience and Submission from us.
- Know your place and stay there.
Ruth never forgot her place. She knew her place, but Boaz noticed her. She stayed in her place till God lifted her. Do we have the same attitude?
We see Children want to become Parents, member trying to be pastors, employee trying to be bosses, men trying to become women, women trying to become men. If we don’t know our place, it is very dangerous. We can lose God’s favour, if we try to step out from our place. Don’t compete with others. God will lift you up in his time.
- Show Grace and Kindness to others as well.
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
Ruth showed kindness to Naomi. It is important to show kindness to others in order to receive it back.
- Seek refuge under God’s wings.
2 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.
To end, God has placed many Boaz in our lives, i.e. when we receive unmerited Grace / favour through them. Do we acknowledge it? Jesus our true Boaz died on the cross for us and paid for all our sins, do we acknowledge it? Come under his wings.
Virjil Selvan is Pastoring the New Hope Community.
The New Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that New Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.
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