REDEEMING RUTH 2 Ptr. Vetty Gutierrez 10:00AM Morning Service

2. REDEEMING RUTH #2
“GOD‟S HAND IN OUR
LUCK”

3. RUTH 2:1-13
“Now Naomi had a relative of her husband‟s, a
worthy man of the clan of Elimelech who‟s
name was Boaz. And Ruth, the Moabite, said to
Naomi, „Let me go to the field and glean among
the ears of grain after him and in whose sight I
shall find favor.‟ And she said to her, „Go, my
daughter.‟
“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. And behold,
Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the
reaper, „The Lord be with you.‟ And they
answered, „The Lord bless you.‟

4. “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. 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.‟

5. “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.‟ 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,

6. „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. The Lord repay
you for what you have done, and a
full reward to be given you by the
Lord to the God of Israel, under
whose wings you have come to take
refuge.‟

7. “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.‟”

8. 1-3 Isang araw, sinabi ni Ruth kay
Naomi, "Pupunta po ako sa bukid at
mamumulot ng mga uhay na naiiwan ng
mga gumagapas. Doon ako sa may
likuran ng sinumang papayag."
Sumagot si Naomi, "Ikaw ang
bahala, anak." Kaya't si Ruth ay
nagpunta sa bukid at namulot ng mga
uhay, kasunod ng mga gumagapas.
Nagkataong ang napuntahan niya ay ang
bukid ni Boaz, isang kamag-anak ni
Elimelec na napakayaman at iginagalang
sa kanilang bayan.

9. 4 Di nagtagal, dumating naman si Boaz mula
sa Bethlehem. "Sumainyo si Yahweh," ang bati
niya sa mga gumagapas.
"Pagpalain naman kayo ni Yahweh!"
sagot nila.
5 Nang makita si Ruth, itinanong ni
Boaz sa katiwala, "Sino ang babaing iyon?"
6 "Siya po ang Moabitang kasama ni
Naomi nang umuwi rito mula sa Moab," sagot
ng katiwala. 7 "Nakiusap po siyang
makapamulot ng nalaglag na mga uhay.
Pinayagan ko naman. Kaya't maagang-maaga
pa'y naririto na siya. Katitigil lamang niya para
magpahinga sandali."

10. 8 Nilapitan ni Boaz si Ruth at kinausap, "Anak,
huwag ka nang pupunta sa ibang bukid. Dito ka na
lamang mamulot kasama ng aking mga manggagawang
babae. 9 Tingnan mo kung saan sila gumagapas, at
sumunod ka. Sinabi ko na sa mga tauhan ko na huwag
kang gambalain. At kung ikaw ay nauuhaw, malaya
kang uminom ng tubig mula sa aking banga."
10 Nagpatirapa si Ruth, bilang
pagbibigaygalang, at nagtanong, "Ako po ay isang
dayuhan, bakit po napakabuti ninyo sa akin?"
11 Sumagot si Boaz, "Nabalitaan ko ang lahat ng
ginawa mo sa iyong biyenan mula nang mamatay ang
iyong asawa. Alam ko ring iniwan mo ang iyong mga
magulang at sariling bayan upang manirahan sa isang
lugar na wala kang kakilala.

11. 12 Pagpalain ka nawa ni Yahweh dahil
sa iyong ginawa. Gantimpalaan ka nawa
ni Yahweh, ang Diyos ng Israel sapagkat
sa kanya ka lumapit at nagpakupkop!" 13
Sumagot si Ruth, "Salamat po. Pinalakas
ninyo ang aking loob sa inyong sinabi.
Kahit ako'y isang hamak na lingkod at sa
katunaya'y hindi kabilang sa inyong mga
manggagawa, naging mabuti kayo sa
akin."

12. VERSE 1, Now Naomi had
a relative on her husband‟s
side, from the clan of
Elimelech, a man standing,
whose name was Boaz.

13. MARA MEANS BITTER;
SHE‟S A BITTER OLD
WOMAN

14. BOAZ.”
Literally means “strength, mighty one, man‟s
man.”
Sometimes refers to a MAN OF WAR – so he
could fight. He also – it is used of men who are
MEN OF WEALTH. So he runs a good business.
He‟s good with his money. And MEN OF
WHEREWITHAL
HE‟S A MAN OF WAR; HE‟S A MAN OF
WEALTH; AND A MAN OF WHEREWITHAL,
meaning if there‟s hardship, difficulty,
oppression, he gets things done. He is the guy
who delivers results. Boaz. Boaz is the dude of
dudes.

15. VERSE 2 –And Ruth the Moabitess
said to Naomi, Let me go to the fields
and pick up the left over grain behind
anyone in whose eyes I find favor.
Naomi said to her, Go ahead my
daughter.

16. What is GLEANING?
Gleaning is the equivalent to social services, food
bank, homeless shelter, soup kitchen, food stamps.
That‟s the Hebrew equivalent.
And the way it works is this. God, in the Old
Testament, he told his people, “The land belongs to
me. So if you own a piece of land, actually I own it,
too, and when you work the land, harvest what I
give you for food, but don‟t take all of the food.
Leave a little bit so that the poor, the widow, the
orphan, the alien, the oppressed, the immigrant,
the needy, can work” – not just get a handout, but
work – “come to the field, and take some of the
food home for themselves and their family.” This
was the Hebrew welfare system.

17. They have hit rock bottom. These
are women who are in a
devastated, very difficult place.
But here‟s Ruth, willing to work
hard, do anything, venture out in
faith, and hope, and trust, and
pray that the Lord gives them
away to have a meal. And she‟s
willing to work to also feed her
mother-in-law.

18. VERSE 3. ” So she went out and began
to glean in the fields behind the
harvesters. As it turned out, she found
herself working in a field belonging
to Boaz, who was from the clan of
Elimelech.

19. THIS ISN‟T HAPPENSTANCE,
CIRCUMSTANCE, FORTUNE, CHANCE.
THIS IS PROVIDENCE.
But it‟s the providence of God, which is the
theme of the Book, that God sometimes
works through his visible hand of miracle,
sometimes works through his invisible hand
of providence.

20. And here what it is saying is what
looks to you and I like chance,
circumstance, free will, decisions,
good karma, lucky day, is really what?
The gracious providing hand of the
God of providence, who is both
sovereign and good. As

21. James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is
from above, coming down from
the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting
shadows.(NIV)

22. Isaiah 65:11
"But as for you who forsake the
LORD and forget my holy
mountain, who spread a table for
Fortune and fill bowls of mixed
wine for Destiny,(NIV)

23. If we‟re Christians, we don‟t believe in
chance, circumstance, karma,
fortune, luck. We believe in the
gracious hand of a providential, good,
sovereign God. It doesn‟t mean we
don‟t make choices. Ruth did. But it
means that God also is at work in our
lives.

24. VERSE 4, Just then Boaz arrived
from Bethlehem and greeted
the harvesters, The Lord be
with you. The Lord bless you,
they called back.

25. VERSE 6, The foreman
replied, She is the
Moabitess who came back
from Moab with Naomi

26. What we see is that Ruth is a woman
of outstanding character. She‟s not
looking for a handout. She‟s working
hard. She‟s honest. She‟s worked hard
all day to feed herself and her
mother-in-law. She, in many ways,
illustrates the Proverbs 31 sort of
great woman with a great work ethic.

27. ONE, what is going to attract
him to Ruth is her character.
Gentlemen! You need to marry a
woman who‟s not just attractive
– you need to be attracted to
your wife, she would appreciate
that.

28. But not just attracted to her physically, you
also gotta be attracted to her character and her
work ethic and her, her devotion to the Lord,
because there are some women who are a good
time, and there are other women who are a
good legacy.
In addition to being attractive, you got to look
at her character.

29. TWO, Boaz is gonna go
after the woman that‟s in
front of him.

30. VERSE 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 my servant girls.

31. Look at the progression.
Before he talks to the woman,
he‟s a Christian. He‟s not
going to hell. He has a job.
Stops going to hell; starts
going to work. Has a job, and
then he talks to a woman.

32. Protector, provider, defender,
Boaz, man of war.
Chivalry‟s good. He‟s a man of
chivalry.

33. Paul says in the New Testament that
gentlemen, we‟re to treat Christian ladies
as sisters. Boaz does that. He treats her
like he would want his sister to be
treated. Loves her, speaks to her, he‟s
gonna feed her, and care for her, and
give her a job, and give her friends, and
make sure no boys are messing with her.
That‟s a good guy. He‟s a godly man. He‟s
not doing this for any ulterior motive.

34. VERSE 10. At this, she bowed
down with her face to the ground.
She exclaimed Why have I found
such favor in your eyes that you
notice me - a foreigner

35. VERSE 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.‟

36. “Ruth, your character, your reputation
precedes you. Everyone is talking about you.
You just met the Lord. You‟ve had a hard life,
but you love the Lord. You serve the Lord.
You‟ve come here to go to church. You‟ve come
here to walk with God. You‟ve come here to
walk with God‟s people. You‟ve been loyal and
faithful to your mother-in-law. You‟re a
hardworking, wonderful woman. I respect you.
I admire you. I‟m not trying to flatter you, but I
want to encourage you.” that is a great man.

37. VERSE 12
This is a beautiful beginning to any
relationship. This is not the first person
Boaz has prayed for. Boaz is a man who
prays for people when he meets them. This
is just part of his character. This is how he
operates.

38. VERSE 12
he prays, “„The Lord repay you for what
you have done.‟”
THE FLIPSIDE OF PROVIDENCE IS
PRAYER. Because God is sovereign and
good, which is my definition of the
providence of God, we can ask him. He
will hear and answer because he can and
he wants to.

39. He prays this, “„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‟ve come to take refuge.‟”

40. Did that prayer of Boaz come
true? Did God answer that
prayer? Yes. Who did God send to
answer the prayer of Boaz? Boaz.
BASED UPON THIS TEXT, THAT
SOMETIMES WE NEED TO
ANSWER OUR OWN PRAYERS.

41. FUNCTIONS OF
PRAYER:

42. SOMETIMES
PRAYER MOVES
THE HAND OF
GOD,

43. SOMETIMES PRAYER
CHANGES THE
HEART OF THE ONE
WHO IS ASKING,

44. SO OFTENTIMES
CHRISTIANS PRAY FOR
THINGS THAT ARE NOT
WRONG TO PRAY FOR,
BUT THEN FAIL TO ACT TO
ANSWER THAT PRAYER.

45. DON‟T JUST
PRAY, ANSWER
THE PRAYER.

46. Jesus did the same thing. I‟ll tell you
where he did it. On the cross, Jesus
prays, “Father, “Forgive them.” And
then what does Jesus do? Answers
his own prayer by dying for the
forgiveness of sin. Boaz prays for
Ruth. Boaz answers that prayer.

47. What looks like a bunch of
amazing coincidences ends
up being a tapestry that
God weaves together as
both sovereign and good.

48. Don‟t just pray for
people, but in as much
as God would enable
you, answer those
prayers.

49. But I just love the fact that
our God would compare
himself to a wing. Deep
down, that means a lot to
me. God‟s a good God.

50. VERSE 13. “may I continue to find
favor in your eyes, my lord she said.
You have given comfort and have
spoken kindly to your servant- though
I do not have the standing of one of
your servant girls.

51. Women are looking for a man who‟s
masculine, but can comfort, and
speaks kindly. He comforts her. He
respects her. He cares for her. He‟s
a defender, protector, provider.
He‟s a man who speaks kindly. He‟s
an encourager.

52. Boaz has gone far beyond
on the law, all the way to
grace. He‟s done way
beyond what she could
have asked, or hoped for,
or even prayed for.

53. The gospel is that you and I are
Ruth, that we‟re pagans, we‟re
sinners, we‟re rebels. We come
from the wrong background. We
come to the Lord empty-handed
and needy, and that the Lord
Jesus is Boaz, that‟s the gospel.

54. Charles Haddon Spurgeon,
the great English preacher
and one of my all-time
favorites, calls Jesus
Christ, “our glorious
Boaz.”

55. And as Boaz went to survey his fields, so the Lord
Jesus came to survey his proverbial field here. And as
Boaz looked out and saw Ruth, so Jesus has seen us,
and as Boaz pursued Ruth, so Jesus has pursued us,
and as Boaz spoke to Ruth kindly, so Jesus has spoken
to us kindly, and as Boaz went beyond the
requirements of the law, all the way to grace, so the
Lord Jesus has gone beyond the requirements of the
law, all the way to grace, and we‟ve found, to use the
words of Ruth, favor in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, our
glorious Boaz.

56. NOW BOAZ UNDERSTANDS THAT
HE COMES TO GOD EMPTYHANDED, AND THAT
EVERYTHING HE HAS BELONGS
TO THE LORD. AND BECAUSE HE
HAS RECEIVED EVERYTHING AS
A GIFT, HE IS VERY GENEROUS,
AND HE IS A GIFT-GIVER.

57. He‟s a man of grace, or favor. The
reason this is important is that the
main thread of the book is the
providence of God. Some of the
secondary themes are God‟s care
for the poor and the widow,
elsewhere he says also the orphan.

58. In the Bible – there are two kinds of rich people
and two kinds of poor people. There are
righteous and unrighteous rich. Unrighteous
rich people rip people off and don‟t share.
Righteous rich people earn their money
honestly and share it generously. Likewise,
there are two kinds of poor people, righteous
and unrighteous poor. The unrighteous poor
drink all their money, are too lazy to get a job,
they do drugs and squander it away gambling.
They‟re poor because of sin.

59. THE ISSUE IS NOT
RICH AND POOR. THE
ISSUE IS RIGHTEOUS
AND UNRIGHTEOUS.

60. And what infuriates among some young
Christians, some more urban Christians, is this
issue that poor equals righteous and the poor
are close to God. Some poor people love the
Lord, some rich people love the Lord. It‟s not
rich and poor, it‟s righteous and unrighteous.
We can‟t allow socio-economics and politics to
dictate our gospel, our understanding of how
we get close to God. It‟s not through how much
money we do or do not have. It‟s through
Jesus.

61. 2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, so
that you through his poverty might
become rich.(NIV)

62. Whether or you are rich, or whether you are poor,
that does not make you any closer or further to God. It
does not necessarily indicate whether or not God
loves you or not. We receive salvation as a free gift,
that Jesus is our glorious Boaz. He gives himself to us,
his life, death, burial, resurrection. He forgives us,
saves us. We, like Ruth, might look at Jesus as she
looked at Boaz, and say, “Why have you been so nice
to me?” And he would say, “It‟s grace. It‟s love. It‟s
mercy. It‟s favor. I don‟t owe you anything, but I love
you. This is who I am.”

63. Boaz is, in the words of Corinthians, a
cheerful giver. He doesn‟t say, “Why do I
need to give a portion of my earnings to
the poor?” What he says is, “It all belongs
to the Lord. This portion God has given
me; this portion God has given me to
share.” Why would God give us a portion
to share? Because the providence of God
works through us, oftentimes.

64. That is, God‟s hand is extended
to us, we put our hand in God‟s
hand, and then God uses us, not
to just pray for people, but to
care for them. Food, shelter,
water, the kinds of things that
dominate the Book of Ruth.

65. And so, it is the gospel. No one owes
you anything, but we will give you
what we have because that is grace.
That is mercy. That is favor. That is
Jesus. And you can do that if you‟re
rich or poor. Like Boaz and Ruth,
whether you‟re rich or poor, you
could still be righteous.

66. We don‟t want you to walk out
of here thinking poor people
are good, rich people are bad.
You probably think that only
if you‟re poor, which is more
than a little bit self-righteous.

67. We‟re saying do your part with
the people that are in your life.
Give to your church. Beyond
that, have a global heart for
widows, orphans, the poor, and
those in need, not „cause you
have to, „cause you get to.

68. You say, “Well, this is my money.”
No, it‟s all the Lord‟s. And, like Boaz,
if we have that attitude – God loves a
cheerful giver – and he who has
been entrusted with little can be
entrusted with much more. And the
context there, according to Jesus, is
money.

69. But what a blessing it is to have
God take your hand and to put
something in it, and God allow
you the privilege of sharing it,
and sharing in the joy of being a
person who gets to do the gospel.

70. It‟s about grace. It‟s about favor. It‟s
about mercy. It‟s about not just
praying that God would change the
world, but then participating in the
work of God and sharing in the joy
of God as he uses us as instruments
in his hand to be about the
transformation of people‟s lives

71. Just, don‟t come to him with hands full.
Come to him with hands empty, as Ruth
came to Boaz, and he will exceed all
expectations. Confess your sin, and the
Lord Jesus Christ will forgive you. When
you‟re ready, partake of communion,
which is remembering the gift of Jesus‟
body and blood, salvation by grace,
through faith, in Christ.

72. We‟ll give of our tithes and offerings,
not because this is what we give to
the Lord, it‟s because this is what
belongs to the Lord, and this is the
part he has given us to share, in
addition to the part he has given us
to spend for our own needs.