[Ruth 2:12 ESV]
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!”
What does it mean to take refuge under the wings of God?
[Psalm 91:4 ESV]
4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
[Psalm 61:4-5 ESV]
4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah 5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
It’s looking to God alone as your all in all.
[John 6:68-69 ESV]
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed,
and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
… we, like Ruth can fly to shelter under the wings of God,
by looking to Jesus Christ alone as our all in all.
Three Assurances for the person who seeks refuge under the wings of God…
Those Who Fly To God For Refuge Can Trust His Providence
What is God’s Providence?
[Ruth 2:1-4 ESV]
1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 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.” 3 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.
4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem…
[Leviticus 19:9-10 ESV]
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land,
you shall not reap your field right up to its edge…
[Deuteronomy 24:19-22 ESV]
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
Coincidence? No. Providence.
The Author makes that clear by foreshadowing in Verse 1,
and by again stating that Boaz belonged to the clan of Elimelech.
The person who has flown under the wings of God for refuge can trust the Providence of God.
[Acts 17:28 ESV]
28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’…
Those Who Fly To God For Refuge Can Trust His Protection
[Ruth 2:4-14 ESV]
4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 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. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
8 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. 9 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.” 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?”
11 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.
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!”
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.” 14 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…
What’s your first impression of Boaz?
[Ruth 2:4 ESV]
4 … “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.”
[Ruth 2:5 ESV]
5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
[Ruth 2:8 ESV]
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter,
Protection
[Ruth 2:8-9 ESV]
8 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. 9 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?
[Ruth 2:22 ESV]
22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”
[Ruth 2:10 ESV]
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 2:11-12 ESV]
11 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.
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!”
[Ruth 2:14 ESV]
14 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.
If you’re living under the shelter of the Almighty’s wings, He’s providing protection even in what seems to be happenstance.
What about when there is tragedy?
[Luke 22:31-32 ESV]
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Those Who Fly To God For Refuge Can Trust His Provision
[Ruth 2:14-23 ESV]
14 … And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”
23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz,
gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests.
And she lived with her mother-in-law.
[Ruth 2:17 ESV]
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned…
… God met her supernaturally.
[Ruth 2:17 ESV]
17 … and it was about an ephah of barley.
[Ruth 2:19 ESV]
19 … “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.”…
Ruth was strong, diligent, hard-working; yet the result was only possible because of God’s provision.
[Ruth 2:21, 23 ESV]
21 And Ruth the Moabite said,
“Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests.
Physical nourishment wasn’t all that God had provided.
[Ruth 2:19-20 ESV]
19 … So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours,
one of our redeemers.”
Kinsman-Redeemer
[Leviticus 25:23-25 ESV]
23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine.
For you are strangers and sojourners with me. 24 And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.
25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property,
then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem
what his brother has sold.
[Leviticus 25:47-49 ESV]
47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan,
48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him,
or a close relative from his clan may redeem him.
Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense
But trust Him for His grace
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face. —William Cowper (God Moves In A Mysterious Way)
Why would God receive, bless, protect, provide for a Moabite?
*[Deuteronomy 23:3-6 ESV]*
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD.
Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
Why would He receive Ruth?
[Psalm 145:8-9 ESV]
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
Many reject refuge under the covering of God seeking it elsewhere…
[Matthew 23:37 ESV]
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
What about you? Have you flown to God for refuge?
Humanity has a REDEEMER!
[Hebrews 2:14 ESV]
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,
he himself likewise partook of the same things…
[John 10:18 ESV]
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord…
He was able to redeem - Fully God, Fully Man - sinless;
a one-time sacrifice - His life on the cross - sufficient for all-time.
[Revelation 5:9 ESV]
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,