We come again this evening to this book of Ruth and we've already spent quite a considerable time in the first chapter and we've seen in it a wonderful picture of life in this world, of life in relation to God. of the way that humanity lives before God and how God relates to humanity. And that really is the story of this book. It's been variously described, but perhaps one of the most vivid and clear titles that have been given to this book is the Romance of Redemption. that presents to us the reality of the love story that unfolds in these pages, but also of the purpose of God in communicating that love story to us, that we should understand his love for us, and that that love is to be understood in terms of his redeeming grace towards a world at war with him. And so we've already seen that the world is at war with him. we've already seen the reality of sin and the consequences of sin. We observed the life of Elimelech and his sons Marlon and Cillian and how Elimelech led his family away from the land of promise, away from the covenant blessings that were theirs if they took to heart the word of God and obeyed the law of God and he took them to seek life and to seek provision and protection somewhere else, but not in the place where God reigned. not in the kingdom of his sovereign care. And as they turned their backs on God, they turned their backs on the provision of God and the promises of God, and indeed they encountered the chastisement of God and the curse of God. For there in Moab, where they had sought life, they found death. And Marlon and Cillian along with their father, died there in the land of Moab. But we've also seen that though this world is a world full of sin and suffers the consequences of sin, nevertheless God is patient and kind and merciful. and he hasn't given up on this world and we observed how he reached out to Naomi with the news that he had returned with favor to the Israelites in Judea and that he had blessed them again with food as he had raised up a deliverer for them who had driven away their enemies and enabled them once again to plant the seed in the fields and to look forward to its harvest without it being pillaged from before their eyes. And so Naomi had returned and she turned her back on Moab, she turned her back on the place where Elimelech had led her and where her two sons had been buried. She turned her back on the promises and the hope of life and provision that that country had initially gave her. She recognised it to be empty and devoid of blessing for her now and she comes back to God. We saw the picture of repentance that that presented to us as Naomi came back to the place where God's name dwelt and where God's people dwelt. But not only Naomi, that Ruth, her daughter-in-law also, she returned with her and she determined to go with her wherever she went and to live wherever she lived, that her people should be her own people. and Naomi's God, her own God. She was throwing in her lot with Naomi. She didn't know what the future held for her. She didn't know what Bethlehem would bring into her life. It was all a blank. All an unknown and yet she was willing to go along with Naomi and she was willing to support Naomi and care for Naomi, whatever the future might bring to her and to trust that the God who had provided for the needs of his people at last would provide for her. And so Ruth along with Naomi has returned to Bethlehem. to her husband's hometown, to her husband's people, and to the God who reigns there. Ruth is an illustration to us in the early part of the second chapter of someone who is seeking life. As she went out into the fields, having returned to Bethlehem, but finding that there was nothing for them, no provision, no money, no means of supporting her mother other than to go out into the fields and to glean the remnants of the harvest. She undertakes this difficult back-breaking work in order that she might provide a meal for herself and for her mother-in-law. She is seeking sustenance, she is seeking food, she is seeking life. They're on the brink of death. And that's where we really left the story, wasn't it, last time, a few weeks ago, when we were last in this book? And we're picking up this story from the midst of that section that we began looking at last time. And to focus now not upon Ruth so much as upon Boaz, this man that we're introduced to in the very first verse of this chapter, a relative of Naomi's husband, a near relative. of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And it's to him that we turn our thoughts this evening, to think about his role in this book, and particularly to think of Boaz as a type of Christ. Now you understand when I use that word type, I'm not saying that Boaz was a kind of Christ, a kind of Messiah. No, it's the language of symbol and picture. He's a signpost, if you like, that points forward to one who is the reality. It's a signpost that doesn't provide what the reality will provide, but it directs us to that reality. And that's what Boaz is. He's a signpost here in the midst of this book of Ruth. A signpost pointing to Jesus Christ. And he doesn't do what Christ is able to do, but in what he does do, he provides a picture of what Christ will do. And particularly in these verses before us this evening, here's the picture of a provider. and his provision is bountiful and its provision is free and it is a provision that is beyond expectations and it's a provision that inspires devotion and thanksgiving. So in the first place, as we think about Boas, I want you to consider the provision that he made as a provision that was sufficient. It was sufficient. Ruth has asked her mother-in-law, can I go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favour? And her mother-in-law, perhaps after some days of hedging and delaying until the Meals on Wheels service has ground to a halt, and the friends who initially were so full of excitement at Naomi's return and eager to hear her news and invited them around for meals. Well, the news has been shared and life must go on and it's busy because, well, Gideon has only just pushed out the Midianites from the land and it's so important this time of the harvest. Everyone's hard at work. And so Naomi's forgotten after the first rush of enthusiastic interest, and the cupboard is bare, and Ruth must go out. And Naomi at last says, well, you go then. This is the only way that we'll have any bread on the table, is if you go out and glean in the fields. and so she goes out and she takes full advantage of the provision of the law of Israel which said that any poor Israelite or any poor foreigner who lived among them had the right to go out into the fields and as the reapers were reaping the harvest and as Grains of corn and heads of barley fell upon the ground as they gathered up the sheaths and tied them and stacked them. These gleaners could come along behind, pick up the grains, pick up the ears here and there and gather it together that they might at the end of the day be able to bake a loaf of bread and sustain their lives for another day. And so she takes full advantage of this. She goes there early in the morning. She seeks the blessing of the owner of the field who's represented here by the man who is in charge of the reapers. And she has been diligent in gleaning in the midst of the field in this back-breaking work. Boas, who owns this field, has allowed Ruth to glean in his field. That was the provision of the law. But the fact that the law says that something is possible, that something is permissible, doesn't necessarily mean that every owner is going to obey, that every owner is going to be as kind and accepting of the needs of the poor. But with Boaz, there's no hesitation, there's no hindrance, and you say, well, Boaz isn't here yet, he hasn't arrived in the field yet. She has permission from the man in charge of the Reapers, the servant of Boaz. And that certainly must tell you something about Boaz, mustn't it? The Boaz has obviously given clear instructions to the head servant who's in charge of the reapers. Now if anyone comes along to glean in my fields, you have my permission to allow them to glean. Don't say, well you must wait for the owner to come and he'll give you permission. No, the owner has already given permission. And here she has been perhaps for some hours before Boaz shows up on the scene. Boaz has allowed this to happen in a general way, but he does much more than that when he comes upon the scene. And he comes and he greets his workers The Lord be with you. And immediately, though we've heard very little about him other than that he was a close relative of Naomi's husband, Elimelech, and so far that's not been a great recommendation, has it? If he's anything like Elimelech, then he's a self-centered man who's not interested in the community, not interested in the people around him, only interested in himself and his immediate family, willing to go off and leave all his friends and neighbors behind him and go off and find life and provision in a foreign land. He doesn't recognize the community spirit that should have governed a nation like Israel that was one nation under God given great and good laws by which their lives were to operate and by which they were to interact and support one another and bless one another and serve one another. and through which laws they should understand their circumstances. And if there is trouble come, into a land flowing with milk and honey should have caused them to think, what's happened? Why has God allowed this to happen? Is there something wrong with us? Is there something wrong in our hearts, in our lives, that God should forsake us in that way? No, Elimelech is off, he's gone, he's disappeared. It's not all for one and one for all, it's him for himself. Every man was doing what was right in his own eyes in Israel in those days, as the book of Judges tells us, and Elimelech was at the forefront of that. And so if Elimelech's close relative is anything like Elimelech, we don't hold up much hope for him, do we, when he appears on the scene? But you know the story. I can't string it out any longer, can I? Because you know it. But if you imagine, you're reading this story for the very first time. And you've read that Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. You're thinking now, what kind of worthy man is he? He's a relative of Elimelech. But then as you read on, he comes into the field and he greets the reapers. He greets his servants and he says to them, the Lord be with you. And immediately you see that this man is different from Elimelech. whose name meant the Lord is King, but who didn't acknowledge the Lord's kingship. He is a man who does acknowledge the Lord, and does acknowledge his dependence upon the Lord. If this harvest is to be good for us, we need the Lord's help. And that's expressed in this greeting. The Lord be with you. The Lord give you the strength. to work in this field. The Lord reward your labours with a bountiful harvest. The Lord be with you. And his reapers respond in like manner. The Lord bless you. Here is a worthy man. Here is a man worthy of the blessing of the Lord. Here is a man whose servants aren't grumbling and complaining when he's out of the field and out of earshot, saying, ooh, that Boaz, he's such a hard taskmaster. He sends us off into the field so early and he won't really give us any breaks. We do so much for him and he does so little for us. That's not the impression you get, is it? As you read this story, you get the impression that here are workers who are glad to be in this field, to have Boaz as their master. The Lord bless you. And then he asks the man who is in charge, well, who is this young woman? Who is she that's in the midst of the field among the reapers gleaning there? And Boaz immediately has taken an interest in this new young woman who has appeared among his servants. He accepts her. She's a poor person who's needing sustenance and she is here in the field and gleaning. But he notices her. And when he asks the servant who she is and the servant replies and says to her, that she's the woman who came back from Moab with Naomi. Immediately, he knows so much more about her. He's heard all about Ruth of Moabite. He's heard all about what kind of person she is, how she has treated Naomi. And immediately, Boaz has a desire to help her. He has a desire to bless her. Not just according to the law, not just according to the requirements of Moses that necessitated him in allowing gleaners to come into the field and pick up what had fallen. and to leave a band of unharvested crops around the border of the field that the poor might come and take it for themselves. He knew his obligations, but he wanted to go far beyond his obligations towards this young Moabite. And he singles her out to bless her. He not only allows her to glean, But as they all sit down at the mealtime, Boris calls over to her. Come on, Ruth, come over here, sit with us, have some bread, dip your morsel in the wine, satisfy your hunger and your cravings here among us. And so this outsider, this foreigner who doesn't belong here, finds herself in the midst of the servants of Boaz, among them all as they chit-chat there over their break in the middle of the day. And he gives her bread that has already been baked and wine to dip it in. He gives her a meal in the middle of the day. And more than that, he extends to her rights that weren't hers according to the law. He offered protection of his young men, and the presence of his young women, and the blessing of what his field could provide for her. He tells her, don't go anywhere else. Let your eyes be on the field that my young women are reaping and go after them. I've charged the young men not to touch you. When you're thirsty, go to the vessel that they have drawn and drink. And so he not only gives her her lunch, of which she has some left over so that when she eventually gets home at the end of this long day of work, she doesn't have to set to work grinding the grain and producing flour and then baking some bread for her mother-in-law, but she already has some that was left over. She's able to feed her mother-in-law right there because of Boaz's kindness to her. He offers her encouragement that if she comes again tomorrow, it'll be the same. And the day after that, and the day after that, continue coming to my field, he says, and you will find here protection. Here you will find life. Here you will find sustenance. And so Ruth's needs are met, her immediate needs are met, the need of the moment are met. But it's more than that. Here is the hope of a continued supply, isn't there? Of continued provision. And so Boaz begins this good work. of meeting Ruth's needs. And as I say, Boaz isn't a person all by himself in the middle of the Old Testament, living out his own life as it interacts with natives and foreigners in Judah. But Boaz is here as a signpost and he's pointing forward to Jesus Christ, to a worthy man, who has made provision for those who are poor, for those who are needy, for those who are searching for life, as we began to see last time. And those who seek Him will find Him. That is the promise of the Word. They will find Him as they go to the place where He is. Here is Ruth and she's gone into the fields that she might glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight she might find favour. What favour she found when she stumbled across the field of Boas. What blessings were hers when she entered into that place and began to glean. And Jesus says, you seek me and you will find me. When you seek me with all of your heart, you come to me and I will help you. And God has provided a place for us that we may find him, that we may come to him, that we may find favour in his sight and be blessed by him. He's provided that place in his word. in the Bible. We explored this to some extent last time. That here in the Bible we come to know Jesus. That here in the Bible we come to know his life and his words, his works, his grace, his riches, his provision. Here in the Bible we find food for our souls. guidance for our lives, direction for how we are to make our way through this world full of sorrow and pain and misery and vanity. And in the Word of God we find direction. In the Word of God we find meaning and purpose. Through the Word of God our eyes are opened to a glorious destiny for humankind, who will turn to follow this man, this worthy man, who will come into his presence, who will glean in his field. Not only is it in the Bible that we find this man and this provision that he has made, but we find it in the church. He has given the church to us as a place of shelter, as a place of nourishment, as a place in which we can be strengthened and fed and built up and grow, that we may be nurtured towards maturity. that we may be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, not as some isolated person out in the midst of the wildness of the wilderness of this world. but that we may be nurtured together with others and grow together with others and fellowship together with others and rejoice together with others and bless the Christ who is providing so much, this worthy man together with others. And so in this place, we find that God has provided. A place where he may be found. A place where he gives us all that we need. And he accepts all people. Doesn't matter what background. Doesn't matter what person we're like. Doesn't matter what we've done with our lives before. Doesn't matter where we've come from. We're accepted. by this worthy man. And he satisfies us. We come to him and we come hoping to find favour and we find it with abundance as he pours out his grace into our lives. And it begins right at the very moment when we first turn to Him, when we first seek Him, when we first desire to know and to grow, He is there and He's providing. And He encourages us to come again and again and again, to continue to seek Him, to remain under His care, in His field, among his reapers to be blessed and protected and provided by him. Here is a provision that is sufficient for all of our needs. What fortune favoured Ruth on this day that she came into the field of Boaz. Well, of course she knew she would be able to reap. It was the law. But the second thing I want you to see about this provision of Boaz is that it was better than anything she could have imagined. She could never have known that morning as she asked Naomi, let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. She doesn't know at that point in time how that day will unfold and the days that follow through the periods of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And then at the end of it all when all of the men are busy threshing the corn and stockpiling it to last them through the year until the next harvest come. She has no idea. What is going to happen beyond that moment of stepping out the door and heading off to the fields? What could she have imagined? She could have imagined that she would find a place where the reapers were harvesting, and that she would be allowed to follow them, and that there, after a few hours of hard work, she would have gathered enough together to go home and to make some bread for herself and her mother-in-law. But Boaz treated her with such favor beyond her wildest dreams, not only allowing her to glean, but inviting her to eat with him, extending her those rights that didn't belong to her, but that he freely gave to her of protection and safeguarding her and providing for her. and insisting that she comes back to his field. It was of no benefit to him extending this favor to her. Indeed, it was going to cost him because not only does he allow her into the field, Not only does he allow her to glean, as every law-abiding landowner in Israel ought to have done, But he speaks to his servants, and he says to his servants that as they're working in the field, and as she comes along behind them to reap, sorry, to glean, that even when she goes among the sheaves, she's allowed to. They mustn't push her away or forbid her from doing so. In fact, what they ought to do is to pull out extra from the sheaves that they've already gathered and bound. Pull out extra heads of barley. Leave them on the ground. Let her have an abundant gleaning as she works in the field. And she knows nothing of this, does she? These are instructions given to his young men. She is just working hard, head bent, back doubled over, working to glean and thankful that she's having so much success. Never dreaming that Boaz has said to his workers, put extra there, put extra there, see where she's gleaning, make sure there's plenty for her. He's taken a special interest in this young woman who has taken a special interest in Israel and Israel's God. He says to her, I've heard everything about you, all that you've done, all of the kindness that you've shown to your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know about your leaving, Moab. I know about your leaving your father and mother. There you could have been provided for. There you could have been protected. There you would have had a meal on the table from the bounty of Moab's riches. But you came here. And here you are showing loyalty to Naomi and her family, loyalty to Naomi and her God. And you've left all of those comforts and all of those familiar things and you have taken refuge under the wings of the Lord God of Israel. And that has drawn out from Boaz a deep interest in Ruth. He loves the Lord, too. He worships the Lord, too. He's concerned about the honour and glory of the Lord, too. Perhaps Boaz was one of the people in Israel who stirred up the others at last to cry out to God in repentance. that he would send a deliverer, that would drive the Midianites away, that they might be able to plant their harvests and reap their harvests. And here he is, he's a man much older than Ruth, maybe he's old enough even to be her father, but he's a man who's Well, we get the impression he's almost alone in Israel. He stands out from among the other Israelites as a man who is deeply concerned for God and his glory. And he lives among a people who are not concerned about God and his glory. And he's lived for year after year in this place and for year after year he's planted his fields and watched the Midianites come in and steal everything away. And year after year he's looked around him and he hasn't seen others who are concerned for the glory of God. And now here comes someone who loves God and who is willing to forsake all others to be loyal to this God. And his heart is overwhelmed with love for her and with a desire to encourage her and to bless her. And so he welcomes her. You come to me, he says. And I'll make sure that you're safe. And I'll make sure that you're provided for. And I'll make sure that you're not harmed. You come to me and I'll be there for you. He sees himself as the agent through which the God of Israel will protect her and provide refuge for her. And Jesus does the same for those who seek him, for those who long to know God, who recognise the futility of life in this sin-ravaged world with all of its vanity, all of its emptiness, meaninglessness. And Jesus says, come to me. and I'll watch over you and I'll provide for you and what He provides is beyond anything that we could have imagined. He goes above and beyond anything that we could have dreamed of in His care for us, in His protection of us, in His promises to us for today and for tomorrow and for next year and for forever. And in Boaz and his desire to show favour to Ruth, we see this wonderful picture of the generosity of our Saviour Jesus Christ. And you know that work is going on behind the scenes in ways we don't know. And we reap the benefits of Christ's blessings as we gather together to worship and we hear the Word preached and He speaks to our souls. and He feeds us and He guides us and He equips us to serve Him and to make our way through this life. There is an abundance of Christ's blessing that is hidden from us so much of the time, His protection and His care. And as Ruth listens to Boaz, and as he sees his desire to bless her, she's filled with wonder, isn't she? Well, I would go so far as to say she's filled with worship. She falls down before him. And she speaks of his favor towards her. Why? Why is it? Here I am, I'm a foreigner. Why have you shown me such favour? Why are you making these promises to me? Why are you providing so richly for me? This provision inspired devotion. It inspired thanksgiving. It inspired praise of this worthy man. What Boaz had done, as we've said, went well beyond what the law required. And Ruth came to glean, and she went away burdened down with blessing. She came to find favor in the sight of a stranger. and she finds herself being courted by him. His goodness and kindness towards her inspires in her praise and devotion to him. And that ought to be the response of everyone who has experienced anything of the favor of Jesus Christ. in this world of darkness, in this world of suffering and pain, in this world of emptiness and need. What Jesus does for those who seek him, who don't deserve all that he gives, but what he freely and bountifully provides. You know, what Christ does is not a token gesture of kindness. He offers life and a life that will not disappoint. A life of rich promises and ultimate glory. And it should inspire our worship and our praise and our devotion that He should show favor to us, sinful wretches as we are. And yet he sees our need and he desires to pour out his blessing upon us. On that first day, Ruth went out to glean. And on that first day, Boaz set about providing for her and for Naomi as far as he was able. It was the beginning of something special. It was a beginning of a road that would lead to great blessings for all concerned. And Paul said in his letter to the church in Philippi, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. So those, for those who've searched for life and found it in Jesus Christ, A good work has begun in their lives. And it's not over. It's just the first day, you see. The first day filled with such bounty, life from the dead. But the first day that will culminate in glory and the riches of God's wealth to belong to Him forever. And we can be assured of the outcome. if Christ is the one we trust, if it's to him that we come day by day by day, to find him, to be with him. And one day, we will enter into a blessed wedding, the wedding of the Son of God and his bride, the Church. Now, are you a part of this story? of this romance of redemption? Are you walking down this road in which Jesus Christ is courting you? He's loving you. He's showing such favour towards you. Are you walking with him? Are you gleaning in the field of his word? You are gathering a rich harvest that will sustain you each day in the midst of the troubles that it inevitably holds. There is much blessing here in Jesus. And it's worth giving your life to him. As Ruth had done in saying, your God will be my God. And she never looked back on that decision as a foolish one. And as she went out into the field on this particular day, she discovered that it was the wisest decision that she had ever met. Poor Orpah. She's in Moab. She's in her father's house. She has the blessings of the provision that Moab could supply, but she didn't have Israel's God, and she didn't have Israel's blessing. Come to Jesus Christ, and you will find life, and life eternal. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you so loved this world that you sent your son. and we thank you that you have promised in your word that all who seek him will find him. And when we seek him with all of our hearts in the place where he may be found, in your word and in your church, there we will see him face to face, and there we will be blessed by him. So we pray that we will never leave off from following him. That we will never search for sustenance in any other place than in his word and in his church. That there we will know that we will be guarded and guided and supplied with an abundance until at last we're brought into the marriage supper of the Lamb. there to be with him forever. May it be the favour of Christ this day to cause each heart to love him, each soul to seek him, each life to be lived for him. We ask in his precious name. Amen.