RUTH UNDER THE WINGS OF GOD

 

                

William Cowper was an English poet and hymn writer. One of the most popular poets of his time, he changed the direction of nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of English countryside. The hymn God moves in a mysterious way is reportedly the last hymn Cowper wrote. The hymn beautifully expresses the essence of the providential working of God and it has a fascinating story behind it.

Cowper often struggled with depression. One night he decided to commit suicide by drowning himself. He called a cab and told the driver to take him to Thames River. However thick fog came down and prevented them from finding the river. After driving around for a while, the cabby finally stopped and let Cowper out. To Cowper’s surprise, he found himself on his own doorstep: God had sent the fog to keep him from killing himself.

God’s providential oversight of the universe is one of the Bible concepts. The word providence comes from two Latin words pro meaning “before” and video translated “I see”. Pro and video put together, literally means “to see before.” God plans and carries out his plans before they are seen by men.  He directs the course of affairs in the universe; he does not only know the big picture; but also the tiniest details. From the fall of a raindrop to the fall of an empire, all is under his providential control (Job 38).

The book of Ruth is a beautiful short story in which the providence of God is clearly seen.  In the first chapter we have an ill-advised trip to Moab, loss of property, death, widowhood and a sad trip back to Bethlehem. Even though neither Naomi nor Ruth has the slightest idea, God has been at work behind the scenes. Now his plan is about to unfold in a most unlikely way. The rest of the book shows how God providentially accomplishes something amazing in the lives of these ordinary people.

Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem as two widows with no property and no employment. What will they do? God, in His infinite love and wisdom, had made provision for the poor in His law. He commanded, "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor…shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger" (Lev. 19:9-10). This law was repeated two more times: Leviticus 23:22 and Deuteronomy 24:19-22

God plans it that Naomi and Ruth arrive at the start of the barley harvest (Ruth 1:22). Ruth does not sit and wallow in self-pity. She tells Naomi, "Let me go to the field, and pick up the left over grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor” (2:2). Gleaning in the fields was a hard backbreaking work. It meant hours spent following the reapers, hoping to pick up a fallen stalk here or there. God uses her diligence as part of his plan.

Naomi allows her to go and “So Ruth left and entered the field ... She found herself in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech family” (v. 3). Ruth does not find herself in Boaz's field by chance; it is the providence of God guiding her. God is silently and invisibly carrying out his plan. Boaz is a relative of Naomi's deceased husband. He is the right man in the right place at the right time, but they do not know it yet.

When Boaz notices Ruth and asks about her, his servant tells him not only who she was, but also how she worked (2:5-7). He reports to Boaz that she has worked hard all morning, taking only a short break in the shed. Nowhere in the story do we get a physical description of her. The Bible emphasizes her character qualities, not her looks. Boaz is attracted by the kind of woman she is, not by her physical appearance.

Good work ethic alone is a tremendous witness. Peter wrote, Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that…they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation (1Pet. 2:12). If you do a shoddy job and complain all the time, you're not being a good witness. But if you are hard working and thorough, your light will shine brightly. No matter how menial it might seem, see your work as an outlet to honor the Lord. Approach it every day with enthusiasm and dedication.

Gleaning was a risky job for an outsider like Ruth, she could be subjected to emotional, physical or sexual abuse, so Boaz told her, "Do not go to glean in another field, …Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? (2:8, 9). With this assurance, Ruth places herself in Boaz's hands. God has provided someone who would protect her. Boaz has taken steps to keep her safe by commanding the young men not to touch her. In Boaz, Ruth has found a safe haven from the dangers around her.

Boaz great kindness makes Ruth raise a question which turns out to be very profound "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?"Ruth twice mentions the word “favor” in this passage. The word means “to show unexpected kindness.” As far as Ruth is concerned, the fact that Boaz even noticed her was a gift of grace she didn’t deserve. Why should a man like Boaz pay attention to her, an outcast who deserved nothing?

Boaz says that God is really the one who is rewarding her; he is only an instrument in God’s hands. When Boaz justifies his kindness toward Ruth, he does not say that he had heard of her great beauty or her brilliant intellect. But what spoke volumes to Boaz was what he had heard about her character. He had heard about her relationship with Naomi and Ruth's willingness to leave her own family and country in order to take care of her widowed mother-in-law (2.11). Boaz is so impressed with Ruth because this kind of character is rare and precious.

Boaz further says  “may you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel under whose wings you have come to take refuge”(2:12). Birds use their wings for many purposes other than flying. In times of danger, a mother bird's wings provide a feathered canopy of protection. When the temperature drops at night, the chicks find the warmth they need to make it through the cold night under their mother's wings. On rainy days as the rain plummets to the earth, these same wings provide dry shelter.

Boaz words are reminiscent of the psalms. “How precious is your loving-kindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (Ps. 36:7). “My soul takes refuge in you; And in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by” (Ps. 57:1). “Let me dwell in your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings” (Ps. 61:4). “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you may seek refuge” (Ps. 91:4).

This is the security Boaz alludes to as he assures Ruth that her kind and unselfish deeds would not go unrewarded. When she abandoned the security of her homeland to care for her mother-in-law, Naomi, Ruth may have wondered about her future. She had left everything that spelled safety, but she now finds something even greater, a refuge that exists only under the wings of the God of Israel. God arranges things so that Ruth finds protection, food and family under his wings.

Though Naomi and Ruth did not know it and possibly would not have believed it, God was at work during all those hard days in Moab. He was preparing Boaz to come to the rescue at just the right moment even when he did not know he was being prepared. Each person went about their normal day to day activities, yet it all worked out the way God intended. That’s how providence works. God works in ways we can’t see to accomplish his plan through us