You're listening to Mountain View Church Audio, Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City Whitehorse UConn. Here's this week's message. Imagine you're at a high school or college reunion. You're talking to an old friend that you haven't kept up with over the years. And as you catch up on life, they tell you about this hinge moment that happened about 10 years ago in a coffee shop. They went to get their coffee and they were about to sit at the only available table by a window. But suddenly someone grabbed it. And they noticed that the only available seat in the entire coffee shop was at a bigger table, but they would have to share it with someone who was working on their laptop.
They asked the person if they could sit down, and the person typing away said no problem and continued working. Well, then a few minutes later, a conversation started, which, long story short, turned into a job, which turned into a new career, which led to a relationship, which led to being married with two kids. And it all started with sharing a table at a coffee shop. The friend ends the story by asking, can you imagine what would have happened if I had got that nice table by the window? Now, the dots of that story connected in reflection, looking backwards at the account. It's easy to see all that, but nobody lives their life backwards. We all live it forward, and we live it in the middle of random Tuesdays that don't feel like anything significant is going on at all, and that nothing's really going to happen. And yet, God is still moving and working and guiding us through the seen and the unseen.
My name is Jerry. Welcome to Mountain View Church. This is part two of our teaching series in the book of Ruth titled Finding God in the Ordinary. Today we find Ruth on a regular morning, going to work in a field with no idea what's about to take place. Although she has no miraculous encounters and no supernatural events, she discovers that God is quietly doing spiritual work in the field ahead of her before she ever got there.
My name is Adrienne and today I'm reading from the book of Ruth, chapter 2, verses 1 through 17. I encourage you to follow along in a physical Bible. You can search the table of contents for the book of Ruth and then go to the corresponding page. Alternatively, you can download the Bible app or go to Bible.com. Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him, in whose sight I shall find favor. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered, The Lord bless you.
Then Boaz said to his young man, who was in charge of the reapers, Whose young woman is this? And the servant, who was in charge of the reapers, answered, She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest. Then Boaz said to Ruth, Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn. Then 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?
But Boaz answered her, Then she said, And at mealtime Boaz said to her, So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her, and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her. So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. There's an important phrase in verse 3. The text states that Ruth happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.
By using the words, she happened to, the author is showing us the seemingly random nature of Ruth's visit to that field. There wasn't an angel directing Ruth down the right road, and there wasn't a dream or a vision. There was no voice from heaven. None of that. Just a widow picking in a field, hoping to glean enough grain to feed herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi. And yet, out of every field in and around Bethlehem, Ruth wandered into the one belonging to a man named Boaz, who was a distant relative of her late father-in-law. And we soon discover that one choice of one field leads to a meeting of one man who would bring radical changes and incredible blessings to the lives of Ruth and Naomi.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's pause for a moment and consider the faithfulness of Ruth. Showing up day after day, working and serving to help her mother-in-law with no future glory whatsoever, no grandeur in sight. And maybe you know someone with a Ruth-like character. They give selflessly. They're always showing up. They never need reward or recognition. There's a heart condition in this woman's story that we need to cultivate, that we can't miss, and we need to pause and think about and ask ourselves, do I have that? Am I striving for that?
You see, Ruth's life exemplifies a call to show up faithfully because God is already there, working, watching, waiting, his sovereign hand guiding. Because there's a temptation to wait for God to show up in a way that we'll recognize, flashy way. But God's providence, his sovereign movement in the world, it doesn't always look like a miracle. More often, it looks like ordinary moments where, again, he's watching, working, and he's calling us to faithfulness. And instead of waiting for a miracle, we should just keep showing up to do the next right thing, to do the next faithful thing.
Because looking back, we'll see how God was always there and how he was intervening at the perfect time without us ever seeing it coming. Now, before we continue, I'd like to jump back to chapter one. In verses eight and nine, Naomi prayed for her two daughters-in-law. The text reads, may the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.
This was before they ever left Moab. Before Naomi knew Ruth would remain by her side through the whole journey. Naomi had petitioned God to show her kindness and to provide for her future. There's a lesson in there for us. The importance of prayer and the power of prayer. When it seems like all is lost, Naomi was petitioning for Ruth beforehand.
And it's a touch point back to last week's message that the story isn't over. God's still working, always was working. Now, again, if we fast forward to this chapter that we're working on today, Ruth is in Boaz's field. We see the starting point of Naomi's prayer being answered in a way that she never could have imagined. And there's a direct line from Naomi's intercession in chapter one to God's providence in chapter two. Once again, looking back, we can connect all the dots of God's guiding hand. But now let's shift to Boaz. Let's talk about this landowner for a moment.
The author introduces him in verse 1 as a worthy man, or in some translations, as a man of standing. But neither of these fully captures the Hebrew meaning. You could extend the English definition of this term to a worthy and mighty man of valor, but in order to cover all three dimensions simultaneously, Boaz would be described as a man who is a mighty, powerful warrior with strength, valor, and moral integrity. Notice how the Hebrew description doesn't include good looks and popularity, by the way, which is perhaps a side note for any women out there who are seeking a partner, that a man of valor and high moral character might not always be a looker. Just saying, moving on, okay? Now, scrolling down to verse five, Boaz noticed Ruth gleaning in the field.
He asks his foreman who she was. The foreman's report tells us two things. First, that Ruth's story had already traveled ahead of her. Her loyalty to Naomi, the loss they had both endured, and the desperate situation they were in. But the second bit of information is that she'd been working the fields hard, barely stopping. The foreman is clearly impressed and expresses it to Boaz. So Boaz approaches Ruth and advises her to stay close to his workers and to not glean in anyone else's field. And in the ancient Near Eastern culture, this is an act of care and protection by Boaz.
You see, a foreign woman working alone in a field was extremely vulnerable. So his instructions draw a kind of circle of sorts of this kind of safety and provision around her without even being asked. With that context in mind, Ruth's response is understandable when she falls to the ground and asking why he would show her such kindness, especially as a Moabite with no cultural claim or status and no reason to expect any of this grace and mercy and provision. It's overwhelming for her because it doesn't make sense culturally. And you might be wondering, as many have as they read this account, it's an obvious question is, why is Boaz doing this? Is it just because she was a really hard worker and he was impressed? Not exactly. And verses 11 and 12 give us the answer. We read, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me. The Lord repay you for what you have done and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Now that last statement is important.
You know that one about Ruth taking refuge under the God of Israel? Because that's another pointer back to chapter one, when Ruth told Naomi that your God will be my God. We don't know for sure, but there was something that Ruth saw in Naomi that convinced her that the one true God of Israel was worth pursuing, even under dire circumstances. And so here we have Boaz acknowledging her faith and praying for her to receive God's protection and provision. Little does he know at this point that God's actually going to use him as part of that refuge, starting with his instructions on gleaning and which field to glean. Now, related to gleaning, it's been mentioned a lot in both chapter one and chapter two. And so before we continue, I feel like this is worth a rabbit trail.
You see, gleaning was a safety net that God had already built into the agricultural system of Israel through a Levitical law. The law reads as so. 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. 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.
So, landowners were required, by law, to leave the edges of their fields unharvested and to not go back for any sort of grain or produce that might have fallen and clean it up. That wasn't allowed. It was supposed to stay there. And this was a vital provision for the poor, widows, and orphans, and for foreigners. And this system worked because it actually served two purposes. The primary being the obvious one, that it provided food for those in need. But it also provided purpose and dignified work as secondary harvesters of the field.
Remember what the foreman noticed in Ruth as someone who gleaned from dawn till dusk and with only one short break in midday. So if gleaners worked hard, they could bring home enough grain and produce to eat. And perhaps, again, if they worked hard enough, maybe even a small portion that could be shared or maybe even sold to buy other goods. And so looking back, we can see that God's design in this law was to provide food for nourishment within the purpose of work. And in our modern era, we have learned that provision and purpose go hand in hand with addressing poverty. So thousands of years ago, God's system of gleaning held the clues to those lessons.
Now, coming back to Boaz, he decides to take this charitable law one step further. Over the next set of verses, we see his kindness toward Ruth unfold. He invites her to stay close to his workers so she's safe. He offers her water from the jars his workers have already filled. He shares his own meal with her at midday, passing her roasted grain until she's had more than enough. And he quietly pulls his workers aside and tells them to deliberately drop handfuls of grain. These aren't mistakes. These are on purpose. And to leave them for her to find.
So what started with the edges of the field have now become his table, his water, his protection, and his generosity to a foreign widow who had no claim on any of it. And each of these gestures represents a deliberate escalation of grace and mercy beyond what the law had required. Little by little by little, God is using Boaz to become the refuge for Ruth that he had prayed for. And so the thread that runs throughout Ruth's story is that she takes the next faithful step, one ordinary moment at a time. We see that.
And when she does, we find out that God was already there working. Looking back, we see that he was working through a prayer Naomi prayed before they left Moab, through a distant relative with steadfast character, through a law that was written centuries before Ruth was ever born. This is what God's providence looks like. It's a canopy of sorts. It's like a covering of sovereignty over the timeline of life. And day after day after day, our faithfulness meets quiet preparation, while God connects the dots in ways that we could have never seen coming.
And you might be living in a season right now that feels unremarkable. You're maybe wondering, is God still there? You might've prayed, God, are you still there? Because you're showing up to work, you're caring for your family, you're doing the next thing. And that quiet wondering is still there if God is present. Is he watching me? And maybe you've even asked, does he still care about me? Well, the answer based on biblical and historical evidence is yes, that God is always watching, always working, always waiting behind the scenes.
And in the fullness of time, looking back, we often see that the ordinary seasons, maybe a season right now, that feels like a waiting room, at least for us, it's actually the workshop of God. The shift that needs to happen is in our theology, not in the circumstances. Instead of lamenting that there's not any massive spiritual events, we should be thankful for what we have in this moment. Because there's power in faithfulness, consistently showing up every morning or every evening, entering God's presence to simply let him know that you love him and that you're still following wherever he might lead next. So make a choice that you're gonna show up faithfully because God's already there. If Ruth's story teaches us anything is that when we do, we'll find out that God was already there. Again, watching and working. Now, before we close out today's message, I'd like to come back to Boaz one last time because he gives us a unique foreshadowing picture of Jesus in this passage. Boaz sees Ruth. He already knows her story. She may be a foreign widow with no status and no claim, yet he gives her far more than she came looking for.
He gives abundantly out of grace and mercy, not from a command or an obligation. And Jesus wants to do the same thing for us, for you. You see, God sent Jesus to meet you in the field of life. He already knows your story, every chapter of it, including the ones you're not really proud of and don't really want anyone to know. And just like Boaz, just like when he saw Ruth and moved toward her, Jesus is moving toward you and he's offering you a place at his table. The difference is that instead of earthly needs, Jesus offers provision for the eternal ones.
Jesus was sent by God to deal with our sin completely. On the cross, he willingly took our punishment, was sacrificed and buried so that our sins might be forgiven. And on the third day, God raised him from the dead. Through faith in Jesus, we can be redeemed and welcomed into God's family, receiving the seal of God's Holy Spirit. Then one day, when Jesus returns or when we pass from this earth, we'll step into his kingdom and we'll be seated at the eternal banquet table with a massive amount of provisions, abundant provisions, forevermore, never ending.
And so think about that. Think about your life. Where are you at? What's your relationship with God? What do you think about Jesus? You see, the best part about God sending Jesus is that you didn't earn it. You couldn't earn it. And you don't have to earn it. You don't have to be from a certain family line or background or heritage. Just like Ruth, who was the foreigner, we're the foreigner. And we just show up in faith. And God's grace through Jesus welcomes us into his family.
He's waiting for us so that we belong. And today, if you're ready to step into that grace, I would like to invite you to pray this prayer with me. Dear God, I believe that you see me, that you know me, and that you want a relationship with me. I know that my sin has kept me from you, and I can't find my way back on my own. I believe that you sent your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and that you raised him from the dead on the third day. I'm turning to you now and receiving your forgiveness.
Help me as I walk with you from this day forward, that this first faithful step might be the first of many. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Thank you so much for being here today. Before you head out, there are a few items to make you aware of. And the first being, if you're new or you've been coming for a little while, but haven't taken the next step to connect, we would love for you to do that. Simply go to mountainview.church slash connect or find us on social media at Mountain View Whitehorse and send us a message, fill out a connect form and we'll get back to you. And if you've been watching online or you want to share these messages with someone, consider subscribing to our YouTube channel. Then make sure you turn on that notification button so each week's message shows up in your feed.
For our covenant members, our annual general meeting is coming up on April 30th at 6.30 p.m. We'll be presenting quarterly ministry and financial reports, as well as an update on our property and future building. Childcare will be provided. Hope to see you there. And if you're wondering what it means to be a covenant member, it's a meaningful step of belonging and investment in the local church. And so you can learn more about that by visiting mountainview.church slash membership.
Now, this next update is related to our physical gatherings. Little by little, week by week, we've been receiving one or two more people attending, and we're thrilled to have every single one of you. You've been inviting friends and neighbors, and God is drawing people to our church, to which we are so thankful. That being said, the 930 gathering has been getting pretty full over the past few weeks. And although there are seats loosely scattered throughout the auditorium, our children's space that meets downstairs is being maxed out.
Now, it's amazing to have so many families bringing their children to our church every single week. It's amazing. But Pastor Herber is facing the dilemma of balancing a safe and sustainable children's program. He wants to figure this out. He wants to do a good job serving our children, serving our families. So what's the answer? Well, if we look back at Easter, we did a test run of an 8 a.m. gathering, and it worked well. There was enough adults and children that decided to attend the earlier gathering to alleviate the pressure at 9.30. With that in mind, our leadership team is currently assessing the best launch date to make an 8 a.m. gathering a regular option.
In the meantime, we're asking for your help. We're asking for your help in four specific areas. Let's walk through them. Number one, we're asking you to pray. Pray with thanksgiving for the growth we're experiencing and pray for our leadership as we ask for wisdom. We want to show our appreciation to God for using Mountain View Church to reach people for Christ while seeking the best plan for sustainable growth.
Number two, if you have children, consider the 11am gathering. Now, please don't take this as a move out of guilt or obligation. That's not what this is. This is only an option if you think an 11am gathering might work for your family. Number three, now is the time to complete that volunteer application you've been putting off. Visit mountainview.church.serve and get that application in today. This is such a crucial need as we consider moving to an 8 a.m. gathering. We'll need people to care for children, to play music, to help with tech, greet people while they arrive, and most importantly for an 8 a.m. gathering, to keep the coffee pot filled. I know I love that. I'm sure you do too. And so we have all been gifted with abilities.
called to serve. So please consider your time and your talent during this coming season and make sure to fill out that application. And fourth and finally, for our current volunteers, please send your ministry leader your spring and summer availability. We're not looking for a huge spreadsheet here. This is just a simple email message outlining your availability over the next four months. This is one of the greatest gifts you can give your ministry leader. Having those volunteer schedules in advance limits their weekly stress and helps them focus on their ministry goals. They want to focus on what God's called them to and don't want to get bogged down on all the schedules. So you can help them with that.
Hey everyone, I'm really excited to announce that registration is now open for Fusion Alaska. If you're not familiar with it, Fusion Alaska is a week in August where our students travel to Anchorage for a youth conference hosted by Mountain City Church. It's an incredible week filled with worship sessions, breakout classes, games, tournaments, concerts, and late-night activities, all designed to create fun, meaningful connection, and real spiritual growth. As a church, this is something we look forward to every single year, and we've seen God use it in really powerful ways. If you're between the ages of 13 and 18, or if you have a student who is, we would love for you to be part of Fusion Alaska this year. Registration is open now through May 31st, but spots are limited, so be sure to sign up soon. You can find all the details and the registration link on the Mountain View website. I hope you'll join us.
Thank you again for watching or listening. Next week, we're going to be taking a one-week pause from our Ruth series for Fellowship Sunday. This is a special gathering we host once a year to celebrate the greater church that we're a part of. And in case you didn't know, Mountain View Church is a member of the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada, with over 500 individual local churches represented across this country. So you'll see video updates from different churches around Canada, and then it'll end with a video message from our regional director, Brent Chapman. And so we hope you'll join us. As always, we'll leave you with three connecting questions to help you reflect on your own or to discuss with the group.
And here they are now. We'll see you next week. If you prayed to receive Jesus today or would like to connect with our church community, visit mountainview.church and click the connect link. If this podcast and radio ministry has been a blessing to you, please consider partnering with us or making a tax-deductible donation at mountainview.church. Thanks for listening to Mountain View Church Audio. Join us next week for more Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City of Whitehorse, Yukon.