Providence

“Providence” is a word we through around as Christians without understanding what it means.  It’s an act of God through the use of natural or practical things such as a surprise check in the mail, A great result to a major surgery, stepping off the curb just as a car crashes into the island where you were just standing.  God provides, but non-Christians cannot see it as God’s working.

In Ruth Chapter 3, we see God’s providence in the life of Ruth.  Ruth, being originally a Moabite but now considered a Jew by marriage, has to be prompted to follow both local tradition, and the Law of Redemption (Lev. 25:25 f).

Ruth is told by Naomi to go to Boaz, a wealthy landowner, as he’s sleeping after a day’s work.  She is to lay at his feet, pull his covering over her and wait.  In the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up. Sees her there, and recognizes her.  They go back to sleep, but in the morning, Boaz gives Ruth six measures of barley, and tells her he would take it from there.  I’m not sure Ruth is aware of any of what was going on, but it appears from the rest of the book, this was some sort of marriage proposal combined with an offer for Naomi’s land.

When an only son dies and leaves no male heir, his land may be purchased/redeemed by his nearest male relative if the widow is willing to sell.  Once that nearest relative redeems the property, he must also redeem the widow who owns the property and act as the original owner toward the widow.  The firstborn male child of the widow then becomes the rightful owner of the land. 

In our story, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died first leaving the legal ownership of the land to his oldest son.  Rugh must have been married to the oldest since she has some rights in all this.

These customeare a little confusing to us, but the purpose of the law was to keep the land in the same family.  So, a male relative who would buy Naomi’s land would be required to have marital relations with Ruth and produce an heir.  That heir would be legally the child of Ruth and her dead husband, his heir and owner of Elemelech’s land.

Now the process begins as we’ll see next week in the final chapter of Ruth.  God had provided the law and local customs to bring about the marriage of Boaz and Ruth through “purely human efforts.”

God wanted to bring a Moabitess into the genealogies of both David and Jesus to show us even gentiles are welcome in the family of God.

Why is this important?

God provides for us in so many ways.  Maybe he’s stalled our car or kept it from starting to keep you from a danger on the highway.  Maybe he’s provided us with a unique testimony that makes it possible for us to speak to a unique group of people.  Or, maybe we’re God’s providence for others: the guy sitting next to us at the park, on a bus, in an airport.  He may be hurting and needs a kind word and a Savior to heal his heart.  We both receive God’s providence and are God’s providence.  Stay ready.  He may use us or bless us , or both.