I recently read through the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. Though I have often heard and read this wonderful story, reading it again has helped me take a closer look at God’s faithfulness to provide for His people.
A Summary of Ruth
There are many ways God’s hand of provision can be seen in the story of Ruth and Naomi. Before we dive into those, let’s briefly remind ourselves of the story.
An Israelite woman named Naomi had a husband and two sons who died. Heartbroken, she decided to return to her homeland of Israel. However, one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, decided to stay with Naomi and live with her in Israel instead of going back to her own homeland.
Ruth went to work in the wheat fields, picking up the wheat that the workers left behind. Little did she know that the field she worked in was owned by a man named Boaz, who was actually a distant relative of Ruth’s dead husband. To make a long story short, they eventually got married and lived happily ever after. Okay, I added that last part… ;)
That is only a brief summary of the book of Ruth. I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t before!
5 Examples of God’s Provision
There are many ways we see God’s provision in this story, but I’ll just highlight five of them. One example is the time when He provided Ruth to be a friend to Naomi in her time of grief. Ruth could have gone anywhere after her husband died, but she chose to stay with Naomi. We see how deeply saddened Naomi was in chapter 1 verse 20 when she changed her named to Mara, which means “bitter.”
The second way we see God’s provision is in the way He provided food and grain for Ruth and Naomi. When Boaz saw Ruth in his fields and found out who she was, he told his men to purposefully leave behind more wheat for Ruth to gather. Boaz had only heard of Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law and didn’t yet know she was a distant relative. Talk about the importance of having a good reputation!
Another example of God’s provision is how Boaz, despite knowing Ruth only by reputation, wanted to be good to her. He could have overlooked Ruth among the other women who also gathered wheat in the field. But the Lord stirred up something in Boaz that made him want to bless this lady.
God also provided Ruth and Boaz for each other. After Ruth’s husband (Naomi’s son) died, Ruth may have wondered if she’d ever love someone again. True to the loving nature of our heavenly Father, He provided a new love for Ruth in Boaz. (And I think Boaz scored with Ruth, too. :)
The last example we see of God’s provision in this story is the fact that God not only blessed Ruth and Boaz with a son (whom they named Obed), but their family was in the direct lineage of King David. Obed was David’s grandfather. Generations later, the prophesied Messiah, Jesus Christ, would emerge from that very lineage. What a blessing!
Friends, God loves to bless and provide for us. I pray that the story of Ruth would encourage and remind us of his faithfulness to provide for His children. Philippians 4:19 says that God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Let’s trust Him to supply our every need together.
-Olivia
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