The Book of Ruth—

•Over the last 50 years, marriage rates in the U.S. have dropped by nearly 60%.
•63% of men under the age of 30 are choosing to be single.
•77% of millennials prefer to live with their partner before marriage.


If you do what most people do, you’ll get what most people get.

—Ruth 1:16 NIV “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”

When you turn away from Moab, you’ll find God’s blessings in Bethlehem.

—Psalm 60:8 NIV “Moab is my washbasin …”

—Ruth 2:1 NIV Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.

—Ruth 2:2-3 NIV And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So [Ruth] went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. ...

—Ruth 2:3 NLT So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.

Providence of God:
When God uses natural circumstances to bring about His supernatural plans

—Ruth 2:4 NLT While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said. “The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.

—Ruth 2:5-7 NLT Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?” And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since …”

Qualities That Boaz Notices in Ruth:
▪faithful to God
▪loyal to her family
▪a hard worker
▪honors God morally

—Ruth 2:8-9 NLT Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. ... I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”

—Ruth 2:12 NIV “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Qualities That Ruth Notices in Boaz
•honors her.
•protects her.
•provides for her.
•prays for her.

—Ruth 2:14 NIV At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.