Jesus: The Provider Who Steps Up When Others Step Out

It's amazing to me how Bible passages can be read again and again, yet God can bring new revelation each time! In my women's Bible study, we've been going through the book of Ruth. Last week, we focused on Naomi, and how it seemed like she'd lost everything.

We talked about bitterness. 
Even though Naomi had ample opportunity to become bitter - even seeing herself as bitter (Ruth 1:20) - she somehow had a reservoir of strength inside that inspired her daughter-in-laws to love her. So much so that Ruth refused to leave her side, emphatically stating: "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.  May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me."
Think about that.  It's deep. We've all known someone who was bitter.  Perhaps we've even experienced bitterness in ourselves.  Bitterness doesn't inspire love; it pushes others away. Naomi may have went through a time where she was battling bitterness, but she won the fight!  She stayed true to her name, meaning pleasant, and true to her God.

We talked about character.
For this week's Bible study, I was meditating on Ruth's character.  From the text, we can see that Ruth was loyal.  She was hard-working. She was selfless and generous, grateful and humble.  Ruth was brave, bold, and beautiful. No wonder Boaz noticed her out working in his fields! Like Naomi, she's also the kind of woman who inspires love. As Boaz says of her, "All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character" (Ruth 3:11).

But these attributes are easy to see in the story. Today, I want to share a new revelation.  Something that had never occurred to me before.  Today, I want to focus on the kinsman-redeemers.  Not just Boaz, but the one whose name we don't even know.

Let's talk about provision.
On the night Ruth boldly followed through with her mother-in-law's plan to find a provider, Boaz told her, "Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I...if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives, I will do it" (Ruth 3: 12-13).

I've always questioned why this part was in there.  Was it just to add suspense to the story? If there's anything I've learned from reading the Bible, God doesn't waste anything.  He delights in making something out of nothing.  He plans everything out in the minutest detail. Don't believe me?  Go back and read His instructions for the tabernacle, or take a look at how the stories and prophecies in the Old Testament all paint pictures of Jesus the Messiah coming in the New. God is the Ultimate Designer!

We've all likely heard sermons depicting how Boaz was one of these pictures, a foreshadowing of Jesus, our Kinsman-Redeemer.  So last night, I asked God to help me make sense of this.  How could there be one "more closely related," who should be given the first opportunity to care for us? Suddenly, the answer seemed so clear I couldn't believe I'd never seen it before:

We've all had people in our lives who should have been there for us.  People who let us down.  People we expected to love, help, or provide for us, who instead stepped out on us. Or worse, perhaps they used us as a stepping stool for their own advantage. Whether a parent, a friend, a spouse, an employer, or even our children, rejection hurts like nothing else.  Pouring your heart and soul into a relationship only to find the recipient didn't value your efforts - well, I don't need to describe that pain for you.  I'm not sure there are words that can.

Here's the thing.  When God gives someone the opportunity to provide for one of His chosen ones, and they reject that responsibility, the loss is their own.  Ruth's character was beautiful inside and out.  God had chosen her - a foreigner, not even of Hebrew descent - to be in the lineage of King David! In the lineage of His own Son, Jesus Christ! He saw her efforts.  He saw her heart.  He saw her value. And He planned all along to be her Provider.

This revelation can be eye-opening and life-changing! Don't you know that Ruth wasn't bemoaning the fact that this other kinsman-redeemer cut out on her? I can't picture her going to Boaz and crying that this nameless fool let her down or didn't fulfill his responsibility.  Quite the opposite, actually!  When Naomi tells her, "Wait my daughter, until you find out what happens. For [Boaz] will not rest until the matter is settled today" (Ruth 3: 18),  I'm pretty sure Ruth is hoping the other man will back out.  Why? Boaz is the one who has shown her kindness.  She has already experienced his favor and provision while working in his fields.  Just as he has seen her heart, she has seen his.

If your heart is still aching over someone who should have been there for you who instead stepped out on you, I'm not minimizing the pain. I've lived it.  Rather, I'm offering you a new perspective.

Jesus is your Boaz. 
Has another has failed you, and left you feeling exposed? Invite Jesus to cover you, just as Ruth requests, "I am your servant...spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family" (Ruth 3:9). Run to Him boldly, knowing that He will never reject you.
His provision is far better than what any human has to offer.  His heart is full of love for you.  If you've been working in His fields, He has noticed your efforts.  Your beauty is not lost on Him or undervalued in any way.  His favor and His faithfulness you can't deny; you know they've been there every step of the way. He will not rest until He has provided for you!  He is Jehovah-Jireh, your Provider.


I'd like to close this by praying Scripture over you:

Lord Jesus,
Your Word says in Psalm 16, "You alone are my portion and my cup; You make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance...You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
We come to you today, thankful for Your favor. Thankful for Your provision. Thankful that You step up when others step out on us.  I pray for each of my brothers and sisters reading this, that you will heal their broken hearts.  That you will take their eyes off of the people who have let them down, and fix their eyes on You, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Change our perspective, Lord! Let us see that even in the parts of our lives that felt like walking through the wilderness, You have blessed all the work of our hands and watched over our journey so that we have not lacked anything (Deuteronomy 2:7).  Remind us today, O Lord, that we are seen.  That we are valued.  That we are loved.  Thank you for choosing us to be Your bride, that we were chosen even before the world began (Ephesians 1:4).
You alone are worthy of our worship, our service, and adoration.  You, Jesus, are the King of our hearts.  Thank you for Your grace. For purchasing us through Your own sacrifice.  Thank you for being our Guardian-Redeemer, the One who sees and meets our every need.
It's in Your name we pray,
Amen.

Photo taken at Show Me Birds Hunting Resort, Baxter Springs, KS.