Ruth 2:1-23

Bringing the sermon home:

Having “come home” to the Promised Land from Moab, Ruth demonstrates confidence that she will find favor if she will diligently seek for it. Arising early in the morning to set out for the fields, it just so “happened” that she came to a field where the worker in charge permitted her to glean, that the owner of the field came by and noticed her, and that he was a godly man and a relative of her late husband...

The author is signaling to the reader that this was not chance, but providence: the invisible hand of God bringing about His purposes in His world for the good of His people. Whether that providence be bitter (chapter 1) or sweet (chapter 2), we can be confident that the Lord is at work in the lives of His people.

Once the favor that Ruth diligently sought is found in Boaz, “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?”” Have you responded to the unmerited favor offered to you in Christ with such humility, or have you presumed upon His grace? Entitlement hinders us from fully receiving and being transformed by the blessings won for us by Christ.

Boaz beautifully describes God as a mother bird who protects its young, but he does more than simply pray for God’s favor to fall upon Ruth: he embodies it, serving as the means by which God’s favor is poured out upon others. The invisible God is made visible as His people reflect His character, becoming His hands and feet on the earth. We should expect the compassion we have received from God to flow through us in the form of compassion shown to others (James 2:12-26).

Sermon Outline:

1. We must seek the LORD’s favor with active diligence. (vv. 1-7)
2. We must seek the LORD’s favor with humble dependence. (vv. 8-16)
3. We must receive the LORD’s favor with grateful delight. (vv. 17-23)