Ruth 2:2-3 Invisible Hand of God!

 ”So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” Then she left, 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 family of Elimelech.“ ‭‭Ruth‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Please, let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain: Leviticus 19:9-10 commanded farmers in Israel that they should not completely harvest their fields. They were commanded to “cut corners” in harvesting, and always leave some behind. Also, if they happened to drop a bundle of grain, they were commanded to leave it on the ground and to not pick it up.

i. This was one of the social assistance programs in Israel. Farmers were not to completely harvest their fields, so the poor and needy could come and glean the remains for themselves.

ii. This is a wonderful way of helping the poor. It commanded the farmers to have a generous heart, and it commanded the poor to be active and work for their food – and a way for them to provide for their own needs with dignity.

b. Then she left: So, Ruth, on her own initiative, set out to glean in the fields to support her and her mother-in-law Naomi. This showed a wonderfully hard-working spirit in Ruth, and it was spiritual also – she would not have been more spiritual to sit back at home and pray for food.

c. She happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz: It says that Ruth happenedto come to that place and certainly, that is how it seemed to her. But it was not how it actually came to pass. Ruth came to that field because God was guiding her.

i. This shows us some of the wonderful way that the invisible hand of God works. If Ruth would have stayed home and waited for a “spiritual” feeling, she probably might have waited a long time - and still probably would have gone to the wrong field. Instead, Ruth experienced the very natural moving of the supernatural hand of God.

ii. Many times when we are really walking in the Spirit, we can only see the invisible hand of God by looking back. If we spend too much time trying to look for His hand ahead of us, we can make problems for our self. (Guzik)

Invisible Hand if God

Looking back, I’ve seen the invisible hand of God working when we thought and prayed about moving. I had returned from a trip from the Midwest. So we started looking at properties online and made a list. I drove back and viewed all the properties but they were a bust. My realtor suggested an area to look and when I saw this home for sale my heart sang. We purchased it and planned on moving the following year after selling our home of 29 years but the Lord had other plans. We listed our house for sale on a Friday and the following Saturday at church my wife was talking to a friend about selling our house and she asked,  where is it was located? Then she says, we aren’t looking at your house tomorrow are we? Turns out they had been looking for a year and their realtor told them their dream house didn’t exist. Turns out it did and they purchased our home. Funny how the invisible hand of God works!

Have you looked back as seen the invisible hand of God work in your life?

Blessings