Now before we look at our passage this morning, let us again turn to God in prayer.

“Our Father in heaven, indeed we are mindful again that we come before You, looking at Your Scripture. And if there is anything in this passage this morning that clouds our mind, we realise it is because of our sin, and our frailty, and our weakness. And so we pray that may You grant much enlightenment from above, much help from the Spirit as we seek to understand what this passage is trying to teach us, humbly seek to live our lives in accordance to Your Word. For these, we ask and pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Alright, so we continue this morning our series in this little book of the Old Testament, the book of Ruth. I say it’s a little book because it’s just four chapters. And today as you have noticed, we are at Ruth chapter 2. Now for those of you who have followed the first chapter a couple of weeks ago, I trust you would recall what happened in the first chapter. Now you see, the author has told us the drama that happened in Ruth chapter 1. And there were two women, now Naomi and Ruth. Now, these two women were in a state of suffering. Now they were saddened. Now they were deeply distressed. We know that they were worried. They had nothing to eat, and no one to care for them alright.

Now Naomi and Ruth had basically lost all the men in their life. Now Naomi lost her husband Elimelech and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. And Ruth likewise lost her husband because her husband was one of Naomi’s sons. So that was the drama in the first chapter, Ruth chapter 1. And the two of them have journeyed back from Moab to Bethlehem because they heard that there was now food in Bethlehem. And you look just at the last verse in Ruth chapter 1. Now the last verse in Ruth chapter 1 says that “now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.”.

Now so as you look at this last sentence in Ruth chapter 1 (which is you can say a depressing chapter); as we look at this last sentence, you can almost detect that there is a turn in the direction that the author is trying to lead us towards and it’s almost like a light at the end of the tunnel. It is no more the time of famine. But rather, now it is the time of harvest. And so that is what we see as we come to Ruth chapter 2 this morning. Now but here as we transition to Ruth chapter 2, not sure if you detect the author (believed to be the prophet Samuel) purposely tells us something right at the start of this chapter.

The first verse of this chapter, he tells us something. He gives us an insight even before we look at this chapter itself. It is as if you get some behind-the-scenes information. Just look at this first verse. The author says: “Now there was a relative of Naomi’s husband (a kinsman of her husband), a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.”. You see the author is building up. Now he has a relative, of Naomi’s husband. He was a rich man. He was related to Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. Now you see, we see this man’s name (Boaz) mentioned for the very first time, not just in the book of Ruth but in the entire Bible. So Boaz’s name is mentioned at this first sentence for the very first time. But Ruth doesn’t know that; only we know that.

Now the author writes this first sentence to help us as the readers, now only the readers to follow through what is happening for the rest of this passage. And so I say the reason why the author is doing this is that he’s helping us to see as we transition from Ruth chapter 1 to Ruth chapter 2 how God is kind of leading and guiding these two women out from the first chapter into the second chapter alright. And with this background, this then brings us to our first point this morning. I have only two points this morning, and we look at our first point. And so if you were to identify just one theme from this passage alone (Ruth chapter 2); if you were to pinpoint is one point from this passage, it has to be this point.

And this point is this, it is the providence of God. The providence of God. That is the first point this morning, the providence of God. Now, what is the providence of God? I put simply the providence of God is God at work. God at work. God is working. Now it’s basically God guiding and leading and orchestrating all things to fulfil His purpose for the ultimate good of His people. Now that’s the definition of providence. Now the late R.C. Sproul now defines providence in just three words. And he says the doctrine of providence can be just defined in three words. It is God for us. God for us. God working all things for us this morning if you are His people; if you belong to Him for the providence of God. Now let’s see how does that unfolds in our story this morning.

Let’s take a look. Now verse 2: “So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favour.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.””. Now before we proceed from here, we will need to pause for a while and clarify what Ruth is trying to do. Now what is Ruth’s proposing here? What is she trying to say? Now you see, Ruth and Naomi, they are both back in Bethlehem. They have come back. And Ruth, being the loyal daughter-in-law as we have seen in the first chapter, would have told Naomi something along the lines of this. Now she would have said this to Naomi.

She would have said: Naomi, let me go and do some work for the both of us. Now otherwise, we most likely would starve. And she would say since I’m the younger one, here’s what I will do. I will go and I will glean heads of grain in whose sight I may find favour (I’m directly quoting from verse 2). Now but what exactly does this mean? What is Ruth saying here? Now to understand this, turn with me to the book of Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament. Leviticus chapter 19. As you turn there (the book of Leviticus), now here are the instructions that God is giving to His servant Moses now to instruct the people how they are to live in the Promised Land. And you look at Leviticus 19 and chapter 9 (Mistakenly mentioned “chapter”, supposedly “verse”).

Now here is what God is telling the people to do. Verse 9, He says: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.”. Now see this word ‘gleanings’ mentioned. “And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God.”. Now basically what God is trying to tell Moses to instruct the people is this. Now He’s saying to them now those of you who own lands. When it comes time for harvest, now do not go into your land and clean house everything and take everything. Now but rather, leave some for the poor and for the stranger or the foreigner.

Now see, you can imagine your land like a squarish piece of land. And so when the owners go into their land, you can imagine when they reap or they gather the crops, they maybe want to gather in a circular fashion or something like that so that they leave some for the foreigner or for the poor to gather. And that is the action of gleaning for the poor and for the foreigner to come in and pick up some of those things that are still there in that land. That is the action of gleaning. And so you see this law has been put in place by God for the people of Israel.

And you can tell that it is a very compassionate law. It’s a very gracious law now because if you are a poor person or if you are a foreigner and you are willing to work, you would very well still survive alright according to the law of the land because there would be still things for you to eat if you’re willing to work. So it’s a very compassionate law put in place by God through His servant Moses. Now likewise for those who have vineyards, you don’t go in and pick up all the grapes, but leave some now for the poor and for the stranger. Now so that’s what we see what Ruth the stranger (Ruth was a stranger. Remember she was from Moabite.)

That is exactly what we see Ruth was willing to do. She was willing to glean in the fields of an Israelite who hopefully still follow the law of Moses or the law of the land now because remember this was what? This was the time of the judges, where everyone did what was right in his sight or in her sight. So you can imagine that there may be the possibility that not every owner of his or her field would bother to even leave some for the poor and the stranger to glean. They want to just, you know reap everything for himself and make a profit. But that was what Ruth is proposing here. Now that was what she was trying to do. Now, look at verse 3. Verse 3: “Then she left”.

Now back to Ruth 2:3- “Then she left, 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 family of Elimelech.”. Now if you’re one who likes to highlight your Bible like Elder Kian Ming, you want to underscore the word ‘happened’ or highlight the word ‘happened’. Now it happened that Ruth came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, and this is where I drew the title of my sermon this morning. It just so happened. Just so happened that this happened. In fact, everything that is recorded in the rest of this book (the book of Ruth) hinges upon this event that just so happened.

It just so happened that Ruth was looking for a field to glean in. Now it just so happened that she was walking along the fields of Bethlehem and she stopped at this particular field. Now it just so happened that as she started to glean in this field that it was (the author told us)- that it was the field that belongs to the relative of her late father-in-law. In fact, it just so happened that it was the field of this man by the name of Boaz. Now it just so happened that all this happened. Now what a coincidence. Now she walked into a foreign land and started gleaning in the field of her own close relative.

Now what are the odds that this could happen? What are the chances that this could happen? Now it is as if, you know Sophia who is leaving us in a few days-time to Scotland decides for one reason or another that she wants to work part-time in a Scottish restaurant. And so she goes and find a restaurant. And you know the owner says: Okay, you can come tomorrow and start working part-time. And then she comes the next morning. And lo and behold, she realises that this Scottish restaurant belongs to Qi Wen. Now, what are the odds that this could happen? Now Sophia would say no, not possible. No chance. Zero chance that this can happen. But this is what we see alright. This is what is happening to this woman, Ruth.

Ruth doesn’t know where she was at this point of time, but we do. We do because of Ruth chapter 1. And people today will look at Ruth and say that ah, you know what? Ruth was so lucky. She was so fortunate. So you know good luck. Again we ask: What are the, you know chances that this could happen (good luck)? But really, is it all about luck? All about luck ah? But let’s continue. The story doesn’t end there; it gets better. Verse 4 of Ruth 2: “Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered him, “The LORD bless you!””. It just so happened on the first day that Ruth was gleaning the field, the owner of the field, Mr. Boaz, walked into his field.

Now you must remember that Boaz is the owner of the field. He doesn’t need to be in the field. Just like today if you are the owner of a field or company, you don’t have to be in the field or in the company because you have workers working for you. Boaz has got reapers reaping the harvest for him. But it just so happened that Boaz decided to walk into his field that very same day that Ruth started her first day gleaning in the field that belongs to Boaz. Just so happened. I think we as the readers, we’re probably more excited than Ruth as we see the unfolding of what is happening to this person Ruth.

But Ruth has no clue. She doesn’t know what is happening in the background. She has no idea. She was just probably trying to find two meals for herself and for Naomi to just survive. See but at this point, I hope you see the orchestrating work of God’s providence so richly in motion here. This is the providence of God. In fact, you drop down to just verse 19 of the same chapter. Verse 19: “And her mother-in-law (which is Naomi) said to her (said to Ruth), “Now where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one 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.””.

You see, the author is again trying to lead us. Ruth didn’t just say Boaz, but she said: “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz”. Now verse 20; “Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His (hesed, who has not forsaken His) kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.””. Now you see, you can almost tell the excitement in Naomi’s voice as Ruth told her whose field she gleaned in this morning alright. You can almost tell the excitement in Naomi’s voice. And I said yes, the author Samuel now used the word ‘happened’ earlier on as if it was all just a stroke of chance or fate or luck or however you would name it.

See, but I’m sure you’ll see what Samuel is trying to do here alright. Now from a human perspective, what just happened may be you know a really “just so happened” type of situation. Now but from a divine perspective, it is something very different. Now Samuel is clearly calling attention to the mysterious providence of God working in the life of Ruth and also in Naomi as he has told us in the first verse what had happened. That’s why I said he gives us this first verse so that as we follow the story, we can see that this passage is screaming the providence of God. But Samuel tells it in a human fashion. And so you see the word “just so happened”. He’s a very good storyteller.

And so that is what we see at this point of time. And I want to say that very often isn’t that how God works? Isn’t that how God works in your life and in my life? See, if you are a Christian this morning, now you surely can testify to the providence of God working in your life. Now whether it is the place that you are currently living at, whether it’s the school that you now go to. Maybe it’s the workplace that you are working at or the person sitting beside you to whom you are married to (now although we have social distancing a little bit here in this hall). Or the church to which you are a part of. Or how about the friend who first brought you to church? Or your parents who taught you the Scriptures from young.

Or how you became a Christian, when you became a Christian, et cetera, et cetera. I mean we look back at the things that have happened in our lives and we said wow. Now God was working. Now God was working, wasn’t He? And the comfort we can have as His people is regardless of what circumstances or how challenging or how difficult a situation we may be at this point of time in this moment, just like what Ruth and Naomi had experienced in Ruth chapter 1. The comfort that we can have as God’s people is that we can know that all things work together for good. And that famous verse that is oftentimes quoted. Romans 8:28- “Now all things work together for good to those who love God”.

And that is the definition of the providence of God. God is working all things for good for those who love Him. You see, God is active in our lives. He is working in your lives, in my life, in the lives of the people around you, in the circumstances all around you. God is not a watchmaker who creates the world and then leaves the world to run all on its own. And it runs out of battery, and then He steps in to change the battery. Now God is not like that. Now God is active and He is working in the lives of people around you, including your lives for your good if you belong to Him this morning.

Now let me turn you to just one passage in the New Testament. Turn with me to Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11. Now we all know that the book of Romans is the magnum opus of the Apostle Paul. This is like the crown of his writings, the book of Romans. And Paul gives us his theological dissertation of who God is and who we are for the first eleven chapters. And then he starts on applicational part of Christian living from verse 12 onwards (Mistakenly mentioned “verse”, supposedly “chapter”). But you see the last verse of Romans 11 as he comes to the end of his magnification of the glory of God and the condition of man. Romans 11:36, Paul tells us as he breaks into doxology, as he breaks into praise.

He says: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Him be the glory forever.”. Now you see, Paul knows that all things doesn’t just come from God. Now all things also happen through God. All things happen through God who is intimately involved in every person’s life- in your life and in my life. All things happen through God. You see that again is the definition of providence. All things do not just run in and of itself with no purpose and no meaning. Now there’s a meaning to everything that happened. That’s the first thing we see, the providence of God. The providence of God.

Now but before we move on to the second point, there’s also something that you must see. That you must see now because there was indeed at one point of time in history the greatest act of God’s providence put on display for the entire human race. Now see, now what was that act? Now that act is recorded for us in the book of Acts. So if you can turn to Acts chapter 2 alright and let me read for you just one verse. Acts 2:23. Acts 2:23. Now here is the Apostle Peter standing up on the Day of Pentecost just not too long after the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified and was raised. And here’s what he said as he addressed the crowd in verse 23.

He said: “Him (referring to Jesus), being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death”. Now see, this verse is a verse that demonstrates the providence of God. You say, how so? You see, the first part of this verse tells us that from before the foundation of the world; before time begins, the Triune God (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) have counselled together, have determined, have decreed, have planned that the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ would come down in the form of a man and to give His life a ransom for many. Now that has been determined from before the foundation of the world.

But you see, the second part of this verse tells us that it was the many unrelated parties- the Jews specifically because Peter is mainly speaking to the Jews. The Jews, together with many unrelated parties that likewise came together and conspired and planned and plotted and scheme and did all these things to finally put Jesus Christ on the cross. But it was all under the orchestration of God. It was all under the orchestration of God. You see, the religious leaders, the Jews. Now we know they hated Jesus. They hated Jesus. They wanted Jesus to be put to death. Now Pilate, who gave the command for Jesus to be crucified, had no relations with the Jews. He was just a coward who was put in place in authority by his superior to ensure that there’s peace in the Jewish community.

And so he was a coward who feared the Jews. Now the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus, who put Him on the cross, they were just taking orders from their authorities or their superiors to do their job. Judas Iscariot, who sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, he was one of those closest to Jesus’ bosom. He was one of the Twelve. Now all these people are unrelated, but they came together on a single point on one day at a particular moment in history to put Jesus Christ on the cross. Now, do you think that it all just so happened? I can tell you that it didn’t just so happen. It didn’t just so happen because we have read in verse 23 this was decreed and it happened. And I said that this is the greatest act of providence in human history.

The greatest act of providence because that crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross is the only hope for you and for me to be reconciled with the holy God this morning. Without that providential act that took place, without that many unrelated parties that came together to nail Jesus Christ to the cross, you and I would have no hope this morning. And I hope that you see that. That you see that that was the greatest act of providence that was done in human history. And so this morning if you are still not a Christian; if you still do not know Christ, now you have to know that the very fact that you are here listening to this message of salvation, the very fact that you are tuning in through the live stream because of the link that somebody sent to you.

Again because if you are here because a friend brought you to this place, now it is also the providence of God that has led you to this hall or has allowed you to tune in to hear this message of salvation, to hear the gospel because we know that salvation is found in no one else now for there is no other name given among men given under heaven by which we may be saved and that it’s only the name of Jesus Christ. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess Him King of glory now. Now, will you not come while there is still time? Will you not come when you hear this message this morning? Come and joyfully bow before the King of glory.

This morning, come and bow as you see the joy or the beauty of the message of salvation that Jesus Christ died for you and for me. Bow now and bow for all eternity joyfully, or one day your knees will be made to bow. You either bow today and joyfully for all eternity, or one day your knees will be made to bow because it’s been said that every knee will bow. Christ will come one day to judge the living and the dead. While there is still time, what will you do? Now the providence of God, that is the first point. Now secondly, we see not just the providence of God but we also see the kindness of God. The kindness of God.

See, the kindness of God and the providence of God are two points that are deeply connected. Now they are interrelated. How so? See, because the kindness of God is very often seen in His providence, isn’t it? The kindness of God is very often seen in His providence. In the intimate working of God’s hand in your life and in my life, He shows forth His kindness. His kindness is seen in His providence in your life. And how does He show His kindness? How does God show His kindness in your life? Now very often God shows His kindness through the kindness of other people. Often times God shows His kindness through the kindness of other people. Now think about it. Think about where God has providentially led you to where you are this morning and who you are this morning.

And I say oftentimes you can pinpoint people along the way that has been kind to you. See, it was that man who gave me my first Bible. It was that woman who brought me to church. It was that neighbour who counselled me in my work. It was that brother who invited me to youth camp or to church camp, and et cetera, et cetera. You see, God frequently uses people as a means to display His kindness. And you see, that’s what we see in the book of Ruth in Ruth chapter 2. So if you turn back with me to Ruth chapter 2, similarly here God used this man, Boaz, to show kindness. The kindness of God towards Ruth who was an outcast, who was a foreigner, who was a stranger.

And so when you look at Boaz, you see the character of God reflected through this very man. I think that’s what we want to see this morning. Boaz is a reflection of the character of God in what he did to Ruth. Now let us continue in verse 5 and just see the rest of the story. In verse 5: “Now then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Now whose young woman is this?”. You see again the providence of God at work. Of all the gleaners, now Boaz took notice of Ruth. The providence of God. “So the servant”, it continues.

“So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab and she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.””. Listen to what Boaz said, verse 8: “Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”

So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favour in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

Then she said, “Let me find favour in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.” Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. (Verse 15) And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. Also let grain fall from the bundles purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.””

Now you see, although we know that the story of Ruth and Boaz would eventually emerge into a love story, a beautiful love story. But at this point, there is nothing yet romantic. There’s nothing romantic at this point of time because what we see here is the pure kindness of Boaz towards Ruth although she didn’t deserve any of it. In fact, she realised that she didn’t deserve any kindness from Boaz. Verse 10: “She fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favour in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?””. Now Ruth knows that she didn’t deserve any kindness, now just like those of us who have experienced the grace of God. We know that we don’t deserve any kindness from God.

We are sinners. We are a foreigner. We are outcasts. So there should be no spirit of haughtiness at all in us, for those of us who have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ like Ruth. She fell down on her face, bow down to the ground, and say that why me? Why me? Now but Boaz showed great kindness to Ruth. And let me just highlight two characteristics that put on display the kindness of Boaz from this passage that we just read a while ago. Now two things that speak to Boaz’s kindness upon Ruth. Firstly, we see Boaz the protector. Boaz the protector. See, Boaz showed great kindness to Ruth in his commitment to protect her. He committed to protect Ruth, this outcast or this stranger.

Now Boaz instructed his men to ensure that Ruth is well taken care of. I think you can detect from the verses. Now here was a time where it was not uncommon for the reapers to be rough, to be rude to those who are considered the poor or the outcast. I think it’s not too hard to imagine. Even today, you can detect strands of this in our society. But Boaz’s commitment to ensure that Ruth is kept safe is great kindness to Ruth, especially in a time of her life when Ruth really didn’t have any men to protect her at all. She lost her husband. Naomi is not a man, so she doesn’t have any men to protect her. Now that is the first thing, Boaz the protector.

Now secondly, we see also Boaz the provider. Boaz the provider. Besides protecting Ruth, now Boaz also showed great kindness in committing to provide for Ruth- to provide for Ruth. Now Boaz has committed to provide for Ruth such that from now on he said that Ruth can not just glean, but she can glean among the sheaves. Now glean among the sheaves simply means glean among the main part of the field. She can come in. Come in. Come in and take the grain that falls on the ground. Don’t have to be on the outside you know be on the fringe. Come in. And beyond that, you know the instruction was also given to the man to what? To purposely drop some grain for Ruth to pick up.

I mean, this is Boaz going way out here, way out of what he’s even required to do. And look at verse 14, like we’ve read just now. Verse 14, then Boaz invited Ruth to join her at mealtime, to join him and the reapers for meal. And it says here that Ruth ate bread dipped with vinegar and parched grain. Now we look at this and you think that ah, this is not too much ah. No steak, no pork. The vinegar and parched grain with bread. Now although it doesn’t seem like much, but I assure you that during those days it is tremendous blessing enough. This is just a time after the famine. So to have grain and bread and vinegar, that is tremendous blessing. And beyond that, now Ruth ate until she was full in verse 14: “and was satisfied, and she kept some back”.

Now she put some in her pocket, presumably under the consent of Boaz. Now she didn’t just put something in her pocket and then left. But I mean, this is a really extreme, extreme kindness shown by Boaz towards Ruth who was not an Israelite. She was a foreigner. She was a stranger. Now verse 17: “So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned.”. Now at the end of the day, basically the end of the day Ruth was done gleaning, and it was time to go back to Naomi, her mother-in-law. And we read here that as she countered out what she had gleaned, it was how much? It was an ephah of barley.

Well, that doesn’t really mean much to us. Now we don’t count things in ephah this morning, even today. Now but my Bible here has a footnote that says that an ephah is equivalent to 0.65 bushels. 0.65 bushels, and we are still scratching our heads. Now we also don’t count things in bushels this morning. That doesn’t help very much, so let me help put things in some perspective. Now you see, a normal fieldworker that works in the field on a particular day; after your duration of your work is done, a normal fieldworker can take home about one kg of barley. Think around one kg. You can take back one kg of barley after a day’s work. Now an ephah of barley makes up a total of twenty kgs. Twenty kgs.

So in Ruth’s first day of gleaning, she is taking back to Naomi and herself twenty kgs of barley. You want to imagine. I immediately imagine how is she going to carry twenty kgs of barley. Ten kgs already very heavy of rice, but twenty kgs of barley she carried back to her mother-in-law. Strong woman. But that doesn’t even take into consideration the bread and the parched grain that she kept in her pocket during lunch. And so you see, think about it. I mean think about it. God has been really kind to Ruth. God has been extremely kind to Ruth through Boaz, isn’t it? And Naomi detected that. That’s why she said: “Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and to the dead!”.

God has been kind to Ruth through Boaz. Boaz protected Ruth and Boaz provided for Ruth, although she didn’t deserve any of it. Any of it. Immense kindness on the part of Boaz. But then you must ask the question: How does this apply to us today? Okay, we understand the story, but how does this apply to us? Now let me just draw two applications, and then we’ll bring this to a close. First thing, God is our Protector and our Provider. God is our Protector and our Provider. Now just as Boaz protected and provided for Ruth, now God protects and provides for us. This morning if you are His children, God is your Protector and He is your Provider.

Now we say that Boaz is a reflection of the character of God Himself. God is our Protector and He is our Provider. This morning He is your Protector. Now the psalmist says in Psalm 46:1-2. Here’s what the psalmist says. He says that God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes or the mountains fall into the sea. Even if the oceans roar and foam or the mountains shake at the raging sea, God protects us. God is our protection. He’s our strength. Proverbs 18:10- “The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”. Are you part of the righteous this morning? If you are, you can run to the name of the LORD. You can run to God, and you will be saved.

You see, time and time again God is known as the LORD of hosts like we read just now. The name of the LORD. The LORD of hosts. Now thus says the LORD of hosts. Thus says the LORD of hosts. Literally what that means is the LORD of the armies. The LORD of hosts is the LORD of the armies. The protecting God. Yahweh the Protector. That is what it means, the LORD of hosts. Now Martin Luther, the great reformer in his deep distress and wrote this hymn that we all love to sing: “A mighty fortress is our God; A bulwark never failing.”. We know that Martin Luther didn’t write this hymn on a, you know a beautiful morning drinking tea. He didn’t do that.

But when he wrote this hymn, it was in one of the lowest periods of his life. He was basically fainting across the dinner table. The weight of the reformation was on his shoulders. It was in the lowest period of his life in the darkest hours, Luther called upon this name of God. He called upon the protecting hand of God. One of the stanzas says that “Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle”. Now Lord Sabaoth, the LORD of hosts, the LORD of the armies now is the God who protects His people. God protects His people. He has never failed to protect us.

Just think about your life. He protects us in so many ways upon this earth- from physical harms, in your going out, in your coming in, in your driving along the road, even in you sitting here, in your house, in your interaction with people. God protects us in the middle of the virus even. And my wife was just saying that she has since been in the medical field had to endure fifteen PCR swaps up her nose. Fifteen, going on sixteen next week. And each time we wait anxiously for the results as a family because we know what entails in case the result comes back differently. But God has been kind. God has protected us. And I’m sure you can testify to the many times that God has protected you.

Perhaps in the virus, perhaps something else besides the virus, perhaps people around you. God has protected us. God is our Protector. But you see, the greatest protection that God has over you is the protection of your soul. Now this morning if your soul belongs to God, you have nothing to fear. You have nothing to fear. You too can say like the psalmist we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes or the mountain trembles or the ocean roar and foam. God protects your soul because God is God both over the body and the soul. Now see, men and viruses can only kill the body, but God is a Protector over both the body and the soul. God is our Protector.

And likewise this morning, God is also our Provider. He provides for us. Again if you are a Christian this morning, He is your Provider. He provides for you. You see, God protects and provides in some sense the non-believers as well. That is part of His common grace. We can testify to His common grace in those regard, but how much more does He protect and provide for those that are His? How many Bible verses can you think of that demonstrates or shows God as a Provider? The Old Testament in the book of Job 38:41 says: “Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food?”.

And Jesus picks up this same theme in Luke chapter 12 and says consider the ravens. “Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn; and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?” Matthew 7:11, again on the Sermon of the Mount Jesus says: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”. God provides for us. What Boaz did for Ruth is a reflection of the character of God. And if God is our Protector and if God is our Provider, now what is there to worry about? What is there to be worried about in this time of chaos, political turmoil, virus, changing strains of virus?

God protects us and He provides for us. Now the psalmist says that “I was once young, and now I’m old; Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.”. God provides for us, and God protects us through all these things. How gracious has He been for us? And that is the first thing that we want to see or draw from Boaz. Boaz is a reflection of the character of God as our Protector and as our Provider. Now secondly and finally, now God may be using us to show kindness to the people around. God may be using us to show kindness to the people around us. Just like I’m sure you saw how kindly Boaz treated Ruth, now could it be that this morning or today God may be using you to show kindness just like a Boaz to a Ruth?

Just look at your circle of influence. Is God right now providing you with the opportunity, with the resources, with the ability, with the material things, with the time to share them with another person to show kindness to another person? Perhaps it is a brother or sister from church, or maybe it is a Christian who is in need. Maybe it’s a missionary and his family who is struggling to make ends meet. After all, the Bible does command us to do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith, isn’t it?

Now you see, I can vividly remember back when I was still a student how coming to a foreign part of this land, how some of the Christian uncles and aunties have shown much kindness to me, encouraging me to come to church, showed much hospitality, inviting me over for a meal, giving me a Bible, reminding me of the gospel. That is a testament to the kindness of God in my life, and I’m sure you will share the same in one way or another. Those memories are still a part of me. And you say: Oh, I’m just a student or I’ve just graduated. There’s no way I can show kindness. But you can pray for someone, can you? There must be something you can do.

Or maybe God is providing you with an opportunity to show kindness to someone from outside the household of God, someone not a Christian. Perhaps a friend, a colleague, a neighbour, a school friend, a Ruth to which the kindness that you show them in some way may open the door, the opportunity for the presentation of the gospel and reflect the very character of God. Perhaps that’s what God is doing in your life. See, Boaz was kind to Ruth as a reflection of the kindness of God finally and ultimately seen in the cross of Jesus Christ, which is the pinnacle of God’s kindness to undeserving sinners like us. And so this morning, has God shown kindness to you? Now if so, what is your response in turn? The providence of God and the kindness of God? Let us pray.

“Our Father in heaven, we are once again thankful for Your Word. We know that we are able to draw so much riches from just a single inspired narrative from the Scripture. This morning, we recognise Your providential hand upon our lives, each and every one of our lives. We thank You for not passing us by but in one way or another have shown kindness to us. We see Your greatest kindness shown to us, finally speaking, in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So for those who have yet to come to know You, may You likewise show kindness to them. Help them to see the need for a Saviour to turn from their sins and to turn to Christ. We thank You for this time, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.