(REFLECTIONS ON Ruth 2:1-23)

In July, 2011 my family of four (wife, son, daughter, and I) moved from California back to the country of my birth, Taiwan. Interestingly, 34 years earlier, my family of four (father, mother, sister, me) left Taiwan to pursue the American Dream in the United States.

Through God’s amazing grace and guidance in August, 2011, just a month after living in Taiwan, I participated in my first ministry in Taiwan serving as a guitar player for a Christian music group called OmniPro Music (歐讚). Our first performance took place at Chiayi Christian Hospital. Unbeknownst to me, the founding of Chiayi Christian Hospital was directed related to my grandfather, 盧萬德醫師/長老.

This just happened, but it set my future ministry into action. A few years later, our family now of five, moved to Chiayi and I served in the Chaplain department of Chiayi Christian Hospital. It was at that time I started taking classes at Tainan Theological College and Seminary, and eventually moved back to Taipei and enrolled in Taiwan Graduate School of Theology, graduating with my Master of Divinity degree in 2019.

Today’s story of how Ruth came upon Boaz’s field reminded me also that this just happened. But behind every this just happened story is God and His providence. Ruth 1 ended with Naomi and Ruth returning to Bethlehem with Naomi calling her life bitter because of all that tragedy that she endured.

However, Ruth 2 begins with a description of Boaz,

1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

Naomi had a relative through her husband Elimelech, a man of great wealth. There was hope, but how would this hope turn into reality? Ruth decided to go and glean ears of grain for her and for Naomi so that they would have grain to eat. But where would she go and would she find favor there?

3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

This just happened, bringing Naomi and Ruth into hope. But it didn’t just happen, because we can sense this was divine intervention, and the providence of God. This just happened, but it was the will of God, and we will see as we continue through the Book of Ruth, that this wasn’t just for Naomi and Ruth, but for all of Judah, and for all of creation.

Brothers and sisters, our lives are in God’s hands. And God’s hands aren’t the hands of humans, but the hands of the creator of the heavens and earth. Our lives are in the hands of the source of all creation and His hands are secure.

This just happened, is the Lord bringing our lives and hope into proximity and when we walk through Him in faith we will find hope is no longer just a future hope, but also a present reality.

Let us continue to experience God’s amazing grace and share these stories with one another in community.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Ruth 2