It’s interesting to me that in the middle of “everyman doing what his right in his own eyes” which characterized the period of the Judges, we see this beautiful story of God’s hand at work in ordinary people. There is no King, Judge, Priest or Prophet in this story. Just ordinary people. We see God’s hand at work in the lives of ordinary people.
By chance Ruth settled in Boaz’ area. By chance Boaz saw her in the field. By chance he was gracious to her. By chance they both acted and both responded in ways that brought about a son named Jesse. Through whom David would be born, through whose line the Savior would be born. God’s providence is always at work in ordinary people’s lives. We don’t always see it, but sometimes we do.
Paul Tan, in his Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, says that on the evening of March 1, 1950, choir practice was scheduled in a local church in Beatrice, Nebraska. When the pastor and his wife and daughter were ready to leave for the 7:30 meeting, they discovered that the little girl had soiled her dress and needed to be changed. So they had to come late. A high school sophomore named Ladona had trouble with her geometry problems and stayed to finish her work, even though she usually got there early. Two sisters were delayed because their car wouldn’t start. Mrs. Schuster normally arrived at 7:20, but that night her mother needed her, so she had to stop there first. One man took a nap and overslept. And so, one after another, the members were detained for various reasons. At 7:25, due to leaking gas, the church blew up! When everyone arrived a short time later, they were amazed to see how their lives had been spared. The fact that all of them failed to come on time—something that had never happened before—had to be more than coincidence. As far as they were concerned, the Lord had been their shield and protector.