Gods Favor
Ruth 2:1-19
Review- Naomi and Ruth have returned to Bethlehem. Naomi has grown bitter about the events that have happened in her life. She has lost her husband and her two sons, suffered through a famine. Last week we looked at how she blamed God for her situation. She said “The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. The Lord has brought me back empty. The Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me.
Naomi didn’t believe that her situation was going to get any better she even changed her name to Mara which means “bitter”
What Naomi did not know at the time was that God still had a a plan for her and Ruth. Chapter one ended with those words “they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.” Naomi was so busy looking back at her troubles that she missed the blessing of God right in front of her- the famine was over and there was a crop ready to be harvested- God is GOOD
Today I want to talk to you about God’s favor. Sometimes when good things happen to us we make comments like “I got lucky” or “What a coincidence.” But there is no way of reading the book of Ruth and being able to say that everything that happened to them happened by chance. God had a plan for Naomi and Ruth. Just like he has a plan for us today- to conform us to the image of His Son Christ Jesus. Naomi and Ruth would have probably said they had a streak of bad luck considering their circumstances but the truth was that they were in God’s Favor and things were just about to turn around for them. I believe today that God favors his children.
There are some belief systems in the world today that believe that God is no longer involved on a personal basis in his creation. That he just created it, set some laws in order and now it operates on its own Thats a belief I just can’t accept, I see too much evidence all around me in my life, the life of this church and in the world that says that God is still involved in His creation and that certain events that happen in our life are a direct result of God showing his favor towards us.
Example-
In 1858 a Sunday School teacher, Mr. Kimball, led a Boston shoe clerk to give his life to Jesus Christ. The clerk was Dwight L. Moody who became an evangelist. In 1879 while preaching in England the heart of a pastor named F.B. Meyer was set on fire, who later came to an American college campus to preach. Under his preaching a student by the name of Wilbur Chapman was saved. He engaged in YMCA work and employed a former baseball player named Billy Sunday, to do evangelistic work. Billy Sunday held a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina. Because the revival stirred the hearts of many, some 30 business men wanted to devote a day of prayer for Charlotte. In May of 1934 a farmer lent the men some land to use for their prayer meeting. The leader of the business men, Vernon Patterson prayed, "Out of Charlotte the Lord would raise up someone to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth." The business men then called for another evangelistic meeting asking Mordecai Ham, a fiery Southern evangelist who shattered the complacency of church-going Charlotte. The farmer who lent his land for the prayer meeting was Franklin Graham and his son Billy became a Christian during the meeting.
Its impossible to say that everything just happens by chance.
Ruth and Naomi have returned during the barley harvest time. Under the Law God had a way to support the poor during harvest time called gleaning
Lev 19:9 "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.
Lev 19:10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
God cares about the poor and the people he gives a harvest to are not to be greedy but are to use that harvest to help others. It’s the same concept that Paul taught to the New Testament church
Eph 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Ruth and Naomi find themselves back home but still in need. Ruth staying true to her commitment to Naomi is going to go find them some food. And look at how this reads. It says in verse 3, “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.”
now later as we study through this book we are going to find out that Boaz is a type of Christ found in the Old Testament. But what are the chance. She ends up in the field of a rich man who is their relative which means under the law he is their redeemer, and Boaz just happens to see her in the field. This is the hand of God and Ruth has found herself in a favored position with God.
Ruth think she is finding favor with Boaz, but in reality it is God that is favoring Ruth by allowing all of this to work out for her good.
There are many examples of people in the Bible that have found favor with God.
When the angel came to Mary to tell her that she was going to have the Christ child, the angel said
Luk 1:30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
When Daniel was in exile in Babylon he was chosen to serve the king, and the king gave Daniel great honor
Dan 2:48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
It appeared on the outside that Daniel had won the king over, but the truth was it was God working in Daniels life because Daniel had found favor with God and God was causing him to find favor with others
Dan 1:9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,
While in exile Daniel was being promoted, that’s just how great of a God we serve.
Back in the book of Genesis after Joseph was sold into slavery he was promoted and became the second in command in the land of Egypt. The secret to his success is found in chapter 39 of Genesis
Gen 39:3 His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
Gen 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.
Jospeh- promoted in a foreign land where he was sold into slavery because Joseph found favor with God and God caused everything he did to succeed.
Then we also remember Noah, another man who found favor with God
Gen 6:7 So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."
Gen 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Today we are the chosen people of God, we are the ones who have found favor with God. Jesus began his earthly ministry by announcing that he was bringing Gods favor to man
Luk 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
Luk 4:19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
In Christ we have found favor with God. We have been adopted into his family and we have access to the throne of Grace in which the God of the universe sits upon.
Rom 8:17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Hbr 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Let me share with you another verse that clearly shows the favor we found with God in Christ Jesus.
1Cr 2:9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--
That’s a good position to be in!! Not because we are good, but because we have found favor with God by being in Christ.
Now back to the text this morning there are three things that I believe we can take away from this that Ruth did that made her stand out, not just to Boaz but also to God
First, Ruth did it God’s Way
God had a way set up in which the poor could be cared for. Biblically there are a couple of different types of people that are poor. There are people who have just had a hard time, some bad circumstances like Naomi and Ruth and then there are people who are lazy. The way that God set up for the poor to be taken care of doesn’t cater to laziness.
They had to go out in the fields during the late summer during harvest and pick up what was left behind, in other words they still had to work in order to be fed. The same was true when God sent the manna. He could have had the manna just appear in their tents but instead it appeared on the ground and they had to go pick it up.
Ruth didn’t sit around having a pity party for herself. She didn’t turn back and go to her parents house. She knew enough about the law of God to know that God had a way for people to be taken care and she got up and asked Naomi permission to go glean in the fields.
Had Joseph sat around feeling sorry for himself he would have never been promoted in the land of Egypt
Had Noah refused to build the ark he would not have been saved from the flood
the truth is if we want Gods favor we have to get it Gods way. To often we try to do it our way.
Let me illustrate. I have come across people in my ministry who have told me some bizarre things about how they have come up with the belief system that have nothing at all to do with Gods word. I was in a guys home one time and he came to church faithfully, said he believed in Christ and read his Bible but refused to be baptized. We talked and I showed him different verses of the Bible and then he gave me a story about how the Lord had told him that he was okay.
If we want God’s favor it’s not about a feeling or what we think is right, or what our opinion is we have to do it Gods way.
Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and said
Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 16:30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Act 16:31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
The only way to find Gods favor is to come to him the way that he has outlined in his word. It’s not about a denomination, its not about what Grandma or Grandpa taught it is all about what saith the Lord
You know some people even get hung up on how we take communion every week. And they say well I just feel like it looses its meaning if we do it every week, yet in the Bible when the early church came together they came together on the first day of the week and they broke bread. If it looses its meaning its not Gods problem, its ours.
God has established the way we are to be saved and the ways in which we are to worship and its the same way for the rich the poor the young the old. The educated the uneducated.
There is an event in the Old Testament that clearly demonstrates this
Naaman who has a commander of the Army under the King of Syria was a man of great honor but the Bible says he was a leper. He had heard about the prophet Elisha and he came to the prophet to be healed.
2Ki 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
2Ki 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean."
2Ki 5:11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
Namman was angry because he was too proud to do it Gods way. Did you know there are people today who think they are too dignified to bow their knees before God and pray, or to be immersed in water to be baptized.
There are people today who think they are too educated to believe that God created the world in six days and formed man out of the dust of the earth. Or to believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation
I want you to know that God’s way is the only way to find favor with the creator of the universe. When it comes to the end of the road it will not matter how much money you have, what position you held, or how educated you think you are. The only thing that will matter is are you one of the favored of God who will hear the words well done thy good and faithful servant come now and inherit the Kingdom that I have prepared for you.
Ruth found favor with God when she first made that commitment to Naomi when she said, “Your God shall be my God.” At that moment she turned from serving the false gods of the moabitites and turned to the true and living God finding favor with him. She also was willing to get food by gleaning, which was the Lords system of taking care of the poor and hungry.
Second, She acted in Humility
It is impossible to read this passage in Ruth and miss her humility. It says in verse 7, “she said, Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.” Then in verse 10, “She fell on her face bowing 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?”
Humility is the key to finding favor in Gods eyes
James says that God is against the proud
Jam 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Ruth could have said, “Its the law you have to let me glean.”
She could have said, “I will glean where I want to you can’t tell me where to glean.”
or she could have said, “Its Naomi’s fault that I’m here and poor and you are wealthy so give me what you owe me.”
remember now that Ruth is hungry, she is alone and she falls on her face in humility before Boaz and is moved with compassion by his acts of kindness towards her
Whens the last time that we have acted in humility towards God and others. Whens the last time we fell on our face before God and thanked him for allowing us to be born in America where we have the freedom to worship, thanking him that we have a nice place to meet together where we do not fear that we will be arrested and beaten for our faith
too often we act more like a spoiled child and get upset at God when things don’t go our way.
But do you want to know the secret to Josephs success. It wasn’t that he tried real hard to get notice it was his humility before God to accept whatever God had for him.
Do you want to know what the secret was to Mary finding favor with God. It was her humility. Mary was troubled at the way the angel greeted her when he said, “Greetings oh favored one.” and she said that she was a servant of the Lord.
Luk 1:28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"
Luk 1:29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
Luk 1:38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
The Apostle Paul was very successful in his ministry and turning the world upside down for Christ and the secret was his humility, He always referred to himself as the servant of the Lord
Listen to what the Apostle Peter says about humility.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
what are we to do? Humble ourselves. And What will God do? Exalt us at the right time.
God will allow you to find favor with others at the right time. He will see to it that you are taken care of and that everything fits into His plan for your life all that we have to do is stay humble. After all isn’t that what Jesus did for us on the cross. He humbled himself becoming obedient unto death even death on the cross.
Pride isn’t so much about bragging as it is the illusion that you are the center of the universe and that you can control everything. Even insecure people can be very proud
Humility is the direct opposite. It is the thinking and attitude that God is the center. I am not God and therefore there are needs that I have that can only be met my God making me dependent on Him.
The pharisees were proud people. The bragged about how much they tithed, how much they fasted but they did not have the favor of God. As a matter of fact Jesus called them white washed sepulchers full of dead mens bones, on another occasion he called them hypocrites.
Ruth had Gods favor because she did it Gods way and she was humble.
And
Third, she had compassion
Compassion is defined as a deep awareness of another persons suffering . It is that thinking that goes beyond ourselves and focuses on others
Ruth was a very compassionate person
She went gleaning in the field in order to feed herself and Naomi
In verse 11 it reads, “Boaz answered her, All that you have done for your mother in-law since the death of you husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.”
her compassion for Naomi was already being talked about around town.
Joseph a man favored by God had compassion on his brothers. When he saw them again the Bible says
Gen 43:30 Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there.
When Daniel was promoted he had compassion on his friends that were in exile with him and said
Dan 2:49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.
We find favor in Gods eyes when we are not just concerned about ourselves but we have compassion on others. When we pray for their needs and help out when we can, when we offer forgiveness when it is due
Paul had compassion for the Jewish people to be saved, Abraham had compassion for the city of Lot. Jesus had compassion on the multitude when they were following him and they were hungry which is why he fed them
Its about doing it Gods way, having humility and compassion
In Closing,
Where are you today in your walk with the Lord? Have you come to Christ in the way laid out in scripture? Are you serving God his way or still fighting and upset at God like Naaman was?
Are you serving in humility? And do you have compassion for others.
Lets wrap this up this morning. There is only one way to find Gods favor and its all about coming to Christ.
Coming to Christ is Gods way of salvation, it requires that we humble ourselves before him. The Bible says every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
Rom 14:11 for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."
and its about taking what we received from Christ and sharing it with other out of compassion for their souls.
I was reading a new survey just this last week. They interviewed people who do not go to church but at one time they did and they asked them what it would take to get them to come back....
60% said all it would take would be a personal invitation from a friend or family member. Its about us caring enough to invite them
are you resting today in God’s favor?
