God is sovereign, and God is gracious even when he is totally silent.

Can we trust God's sovereign grace towards us even when he seems to be absent?

John Piper answers that question from Ruth 2 in this episode of Light and Truth.

This sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on July 8th, 1984.

In verses 1 through 7 we meet Boaz and we see the character of Ruth and we sense a

merciful providence behind all of this. Look at Boaz. The first wing we learn about Boaz is that

he is a relative of Alimolec Naomi's long deceased husband. Now if you were reading this book for

the first time this would crack through like a big opening of dark clouds. Because Naomi had given

the impression in chapter 1 there's no point in you coming back here. There's nobody for you to

marry to raise up offspring to your husband and to my husband. It's hopeless. You're going to be a

widow and childless all your life. And the first thing that happens when they get back is that

a man emerges named Boaz who is a close kin of Alimolec and could fulfill that responsibility

of a kinsman redeemer as they were called. And the crack in the cloud is going to get wider and

wider. For example he is said to be a man of wealth. Moreover and far more important he is said

to be a man of God. At least that's what I think verse 4 is written to tell us. Why would the storyteller

out of all the possible things that he could write tell us how Boaz greeted his servants.

He says and behold Boaz came from Bethlehem and he said to the reapers in verse 4,

the Lord be with you and they answered the Lord bless you. I think the reason he took the trouble

to insert that little observation is to show us one kind of a man we've got here.

If you wanted to know something about the relationship of a businessman and his God you do not

look at what he does on Sunday. You go with him on Monday morning and see how he greets his office

staff. You ask how far down God has penetrated into the details of his everyday work like.

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