1. Everything, absolutely everything, is subject to the sovereignty of God.

There is no real division between natural/supernatural world. When things happen in what we perceive to be the "natural" world, it’s not God ‘intervening’ in a special sense; everything in this world is His doing. God is sovereign, which means it all is under His rule (Ps 24: earth is the Lord’s and fullness thereof). We see this in at least two ways from the book of Ruth:

A. Every birth is from God.

Pregnancy is providence; Ruth was barren for 10 years with Mahlon; the Lord gave them conception (see story of Leah and Rachel, found in Genesis 29-30). Difficult questions (why them and not me?) don’t change the reality – God is the Creator of life

B. Every new birth is from God.

What made Ruth leave her people and go with Naomi? Faith, expressed in works. As Ephesians 2:8-10 and John 1:13 tell us – each and every new birth is also brought about by God. The same difficult questions (why me and not them?) don’t change reality – new birth is from Spirit (see John 3).

2. Because God is sovereign, His purposes cannot be overthrown.

A. God is not stopped by evil.

Think of it this way: God creates humanity; they fall into sin; there goes the plan, right? Wrong. The existence of sin and evil makes way for the coming of the Redeemer (repeated through Flood, Tower of Babel, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, etc.). Remember, this isn’t just a Jewish history lesson – if you are in Christ, this is your family history. This is your heritage, your story, your ancestry. We aren’t merely ‘brothers and sisters in Christ’ in name only; that describes our new relationship – Christ’s history is our history.

Judah, Tamar, and Perez are all mentioned in this passage (from Genesis 38). They don’t exactly have the most pristine family history, but God ordained events to continue the Messianic line from Judah. So, at the end of this story, the author of Ruth gives us a look ahead to see something that Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz could not have known. When we look at the first chapter of Matthew, we see the genealogy (or ancestry) of Jesus.

Elimelech took his family to Moab in direct denial of God’s promise to provide in Israel. What others mean for evil, God means for good (see Genesis 50; the crucifixion of Christ). As Proverbs 16:4 says: the Lord has made everything for its purpose

B. God is not slow in keeping His promises.

God has put above all else His Name and His Word: everything is for His glory, exalting Christ. This means that everything: the flat tire, the long line at the grocery, the unexpected bill in the mail, even the death of an infant, are designed to bring about God’s glory. If we can’t view our lives – especially the difficult parts – from this Biblical perspective, we won’t know what to make of them. They won’t make any sense at all; there would be no point.

Of course, knowing that there is a purpose doesn’t minimize the pain or hardship, it doesn’t erase the tough times or gloss over heartache; it simply grounds us in Christ, gives us His perspective: nothing can defeat God, nothing can prevent His purposes from being accomplished.

Naomi came back empty and now is brought back to fullness, her family’s line safe and intact. Look back at Ruth 1:20. Naomi asked to be called Mara, which means bitter. It’s interesting to note that neither the narrator of the story (nor any of its characters) follow her suggestion. At the end of the narrative, how does her initial request compare with her final situation?

It was 3 generations before David. Another 14 before Christ. (see Matthew 1) They were in genealogy of Christ, listed beside other faithful men and women chosen by God. “The Lord has not left you this day without a Redeemer” – true for Naomi, Ruth, and us. Boaz is a type, or copy, of the Christ who was to come, the One who helps the truly helpless

3. Because God is sovereign, we are to trust Him and remain obedient to Him.

A. Our calling is not based on our credentials.

As 1 Corinthians reminds us: consider what you were when you were called. God is not unaware of our flaws; we are called to serve as they are sanctified. His Spirit must prepare us for what’s to come; endure trials with joy – they have a purpose; to make us more like Christ

B. Our command is to continue to follow God’s Word.

Boaz and Ruth showed hesed; they loved others as God loved them (see Ephesians 4:32).

"More than anyone else in the history of Israel, Ruth embodies the fundamental principle of the nation’s ethic: “You shall love you God with all your heart” (Deut. 6:5) “and your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). In Leviticus 19:34, Moses instructs the Israelites to love the stranger as they love themselves. Ironically, it is this stranger from Moab who shows the Israelites what this means."  — Daniel Block

God’s will is our sanctification; everything is making us more like Christ. It begins with believing in Christ; trusting faith that He is the Redeemer promised by God