Tuesday, November 23, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part IV - The Providence of God, Part 20 of 23
TEXT: The story of Ruth
IDEA: The writer of the story of Ruth was a theologian who communicated his understanding about God in subtle ways.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that we learn a great deal about how God works from people who did not necessarily see Him at work.
Do you come from a family that liked to tell stories?
Were the stories always "jokes"? Why were they told?
I. The storyteller of Ruth doesn't depend on the "punch line" to communicate his idea.
What is his idea? The providence of God is always at work even when it isn't always evident to the people involved.
The idea emerges in the final scene, but it is implied throughout the story.
II. It is implied in the prayers that appear in the story.
The most frequent way that God's name appears in the story is in the prayers that are prayed. We hardly notice the prayers, but each one is eventually answered.
In Ruth 1:8-9 Naomi prays that God may show kindness to Ruth and grant that she may find a new husband and home. In 2:20 Naomi herself speaks of how the Lord has shown kindness to Ruth in letting her find favor with Boaz. At the conclusion, Ruth has both a husband and home with Boaz.
Naomi's prayers for blessing on Boaz in Ruth 2:19-20 and of Ruth by Boaz in Ruth 3:10 also find fulfillment in the story's conclusion.
There is another prayer which reveals even more clearly how the author shows God's providence at work.
In Ruth 2:12, Boaz prays that Ruth may find reward under the wings of Yahweh, the God of Israel. The same Hebrew word (kanaph) for "wing" also appears in Ruth 3:9 with the meaning "skirt" or "garment corner." Ruth is asking Boaz to be to answer to his own prayers.
Conclusion:
We sometimes pray for others and hardly think about what we are praying. So we are not completely aware when God in His providence answers our prayers. With virtually every word the author is presenting a glimpse of the providence of God at work.
