Thursday, August 26, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part II - A "Chance" Meeting, Part 32 of 44
TEXT: "Then Ruth fell on her face, bowed down 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?' 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 that you did not know before' " (Ruth 2:10-11).
IDEA: Grace is unmerited kindness.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that we are like God when we show grace to those who have no claim on it.
I. In the story of Ruth there is a little phrase that holds big significance.
Even though at this point Boaz may not yet even have known her name, Ruth asks, "Why have I found favor in your eyes that you would notice me—a foreigner?" (Ruth 2:10).
What do you think that Ruth meant by "notice me"? There are many ways to "notice" someone.
The foreman noticed her only as "the Moabitess" who came back from Moab with Naomi. Can we look at people that way?
It is taken for granted that other men in the fields would notice her as a potential victim of abuse. What does that do to a woman?
Boaz has noticed this destitute widow from a foreign land and treated her as a significant person on a par socially with his hired field workers. Ruth, who is obviously very self-conscious about her alien status, cannot get over Boaz' indifference to the fact that she is a Moabite.
Why do you think Boaz showed Ruth such kindness? See Ruth 2:11 above.
He had heard all about her. The people in Bethlehem were all talking about her.
Although he may not have known her by name, as soon as his foreman had identified her by status (a Moabite) and her affiliation (the daughter-in-law of Naomi), he knew who she was.
What did Boaz pick up from the reports about Ruth?
Her extraordinary courage in returning with Naomi.
Her extraordinary kindness to her mother-in-law (Ruth 2:11).
Why had she found favor in his eyes? (It certainly didn't work with everyone who knew about her.)
Boaz was fundamentally a good man (Ruth 2:1, chayil = of noble character). He embodied the standards of God's faithfulness.
He would have treated any destitute gleaner in this way.
II. What characteristic of Boaz might we crave for ourselves?
We need to see people as they really are.
