Ruth message 3
Ruth 1: 15 Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not press me to forsake you in turning back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may Yahweh do to me, and more, if anything but death separates you and me.” 18 So she saw that she was determined to go with her, and she [g]said no more to her. 19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? 20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
We ended last week’s message with Naomi devastated. Husband and two sons were dead. Left with two daughters in law. One of them, orpa, at Naomi’s encouragement, went back to Moab to her people and her gods. The other, Ruth, chose to stay with Naomi. She chose Yahweh as her god and God’s people as her people. So both Ruth and Naomi returned to Israel, the region of Bethlehem where Naomi was from. After their long journey they come to Bethlehem and this is what happens. It says that all the city was moved about them. That means that the whole town was in an uproar. There was a huge hubbub at Naomi’s return. She had been gone for 10 years, and when she left it was with her husband and two young sons. Now she is returning alone, with a strange Moabite woman accompanying her. And you can imagine, a town like Bethlehem, A town of maybe 200 to 500 people with no other entertainment rather than life what a few roar this would have caused. So all over town, Naomi’s back, and you’ll never guess what happened. Her name was everywhere. And remember that her name means pleasant, but I’m sure that was the most shocking thing of all. The bubbly, pleasant woman that left 10 years ago was back but she was older, travel worn, dirty from the road, with frown smile lines. And her words confirm why she is in that state. They are calling her name Naomi which means pleasant but she says, don’t call me pleasant call me Mara which means bitterness. For I left here full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. I had a husband, sons, and the prospect for a future of peace. But I have come back with nothing and no prospects. But what we learned last week was that she was wrong about that. She was forgetting the young lady who accompanied her on her return trip from Moab. Ruth. Naomi doesn’t know it yet but Ruth is a visible sign of God’s Providence. That reminded me of a movie that you’ve probably watched.
Do you remember the story of Anne of Green Gables? Remember that this older brother and sister, Marilla and Matthew, in their 60's or 70's, adopted a child in order to help keep the farm going as they aged. They applied to a Mrs. Spencer, the case worker at a local orphanage to adopt a boy, but when Matthew took his wagon to the train station to pick up the boy, there was a girl, Anne with an "e" there instead. And Matthew didn't have the heart to tell her there had been a mistake. But back at home with Marilla, they actually entertained the idea of sending her back. They end up keeping and adopting her. And as the years progress in the story these three grow and their love and devotion toward each other and Anne grows to be an intelligent and industrious blessing for the both of them. In the final scenes of the movie Anne is leaving their little village to go away to college on a full scholarship and Marilla and Matthew are seeing her off at the train station again. They are all overcome with the grief of parting. As the train pulls away with her on it, Matthew turned to Marilla and says Matthew says: “Mrs. Spencer made a lucky mistake, I guess.” Marilla replies: “It wasn’t luck, it was providence. He knew we needed her.”
And God sent a girl instead of a boy. And what seemed like a random mistake with devastating consequences, they needed a strong back to keep up the farm, resulted in the greatest blessing to their lives, their community, and their world. God knew better.
And God knew better with Naomi . Behind her dark Providence was God’s smiling face. God was working behind the scenes. That’s why I think Ruth has to be one of my favorite books. I can relate to it.
prayer
And in the continuing story today we move from the need for redemption to the provision of redemption. We turn the corner out of a very dark alley.
Sermon Title: “As It Happened: God’s Providence Provides a Redeemer”
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). God makes the ordinary extraordinary. Now we’re going to hang the parts of our story this morning on titles around the word ordinary. An ordinary man, ordinary circumstances, ordinary compassion, and ordinary Providence.
An ordinary man
Ruth 2:1 “Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.”
Here we have out of the blue the introduction of another character in our story. And Justice like in a book or movie you know that nothing is random in a good storytelling. We’re introduced To a relative of a limolex, namely Boaz. The name Boaz most likely means strength. And this is a narrative contrast to Malan and Kayleon the sons of Ilimalek and Naomi who whose names mean sickly and frailty. A later rabbinic tradition says that he was ilimalex nephew, but that tradition is not firmly established. But more than that we learned something else about Boaz. He is called a mighty man of valor of wealth, or of excellence, depending on the translation. I prefer excellence especially over wealth or valor because the same word is used in chapter three verse 11 for Ruth. And with her we know or we can assume that she was not a mighty woman of valor we know that she wasn’t a woman of wealth but we know that she was a woman of excellence.
This means for bow as that he was a “worthy” man—described with language that conveys strength, standing, and noble character. This is especially important because, remember when this story takes place, during the time of judges. During that time we are told that everyone was doing whatever was right in their own eyes. But Boaz remained true to God. We are introduced to Boaz and now we return to the story of Ruth.
When you cannot see the provision, do not conclude that God has not prepared it. The answer may already be nearer than you know.
Ordinary Circumstances
Ruth 2:2–4 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. 4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.
Ruth asks, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” First let’s look at Ruth’s character. She is willing to take the lowly place of a gleaner in order to care for Naomi. They are barely back from their journey out of Moab to Israel and Ruth already is looking for a way to support them. So Naomi says to her go my daughter. Now, I’m sure you’ve heard about gleaning. This was the welfare system of ancient Israel. Allowed poor people to go into a field where the harvest was done, and pick up any grain left behind. It is based in Leviticus 19:9–10 and Deuteronomy 24:19.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the sojourner, for the [a]orphan, and for the widow, in order that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
And as you can see from what we just read the harvesters were commanded to leave grain behind. This was a wonderful system. It not only took care of the poor it also required work on their part. So Ruth gets up right after they arrived and says let me go glean. And Ruth was both a widow and a foreigner—precisely the kind of person God’s law protected.
Now, I want you to take note. This is ordinary life. This was the ordinary life of the poor in Israel. Naomi, who was probably physically unable to glean, had to rely on some one else’s good graces. And Naomi now had to resign herself to a life of begging and waiting for help. But even when we are surrounded by ordinary circumstances, we should never assume that God is not there at work.
Now, let’s be frank, most of us would love it if God broke through the ordinary once in a while and did something amazing and supernatural. But, you know what that’s not the normal course of life for most people. I’ve noted before about this in the biblical record. Miracles and the supernatural and God speaking to people are rare and extraordinary events. Noah was told by God to build an ark. He was told that a worldwide flood was coming. But it wasn’t until Abraham almost 1000 years after Noah was born that God spoke to anyone. After the miraculous conception of Isaac to the aged Abraham and Sarah the next major miraculous event in Scripture took place when Moses was sent by God to save the children of Israel out of Egypt. That is around 400 years time and there are no accounts of anyone else hearing the voice of God or performing supernatural feats in that period. The next major time in scripture when supernatural events take place is under the Ministry of Elijah and that is over 500 years later. From the last miracle of the Old Testament to Christ is around 500 years.
And even with each of these instances Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, They are the exceptions when it comes to the miraculous and the supernatural. Most of the rest of humanity does not hear the voice of God personally and does not see a miracle or supernatural event. That’s why the book of Ruth speaks to us more than some of those books seem to. In the book of Ruth, we are given permission to celebrate the unseen hand of God at work.
Let’s get back to our story.
3 So she went. And she came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And [c]it so happened that she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
Ruth “happened” upon Boaz’s field. Now to explain how this happened we need to understand that in ancient Israel fields were not divided by fences but simply by pathways. And we can imagine what it would have been like for Ruth to go out and try to find a place to glean in the fields. She was a foreigner in a foreign land. She didn’t know the territory. She didn’t know who Naomi’s relatives were. This had to be a very frightening circumstance for her being a Moabite and not knowing whether anyone would be receptive to her gleaning in their field. So she just sets out and as the scripture states she just happened to end up in the field of Boaz. The Hebrew wording strongly emphasizes the apparent chance of the event—literally, something like “her chance chanced.” But what seems contingent to us is governed by the unseen hand of God.
She didn’t know who steeled she was in. Ruth did not know the owner was Naomi’s relative. Now let’s read the first part of verse 4.
4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers,
Ruth happened to end up in Boaz Field and it just so happened that Boaz came out to the field at the exact time that Ruth was there. Now, sure it would be normal for the owner of a field or fields to come out once in a while. But he didn’t have to come every day, all the time. He had workers and a foreman. It just happened that he came on the day that Ruth happened to choose his field to glean in.
I know that you have likely experienced the hand of God in a similar way. The time that I am reminded of most regarding that kind of happenstance was when I first came to Parkview as pastor. You might remember that I was working at Cessna at the time and Our young family was attending here when the church was without a pastor. On one particular Sunday in the end of 2002 denise and I sat down together and discussed whether I ought to throw my resume into the ring to be considered as pastor of Parkview. We decided that I should. The very next day on Monday Cessna gave me a layoff notice. I was going to be laid off in 60 days. Well during that 60 days I was interviewed and preached at the church in view of a call went through all the process for being considered to be the pastor. So after some weeks had passed the church had a business meeting and voted and chose to call me as pastor on a particular Sunday in February of 2000 three. The very next day after that vote I went to work at Cessna and was told that I was unlaid off. That I still had a job. Well obviously I had to go in and take a voluntary layoff. In my doing that did a couple of things. One it meant that someone else would not be laid off. It also meant that Because I was volunteering to be laid off I would be given 3 months of health insurance and a little severance pay.
I can’t help but see the hand of God in that.
III. ordinary compassion
In the next section of Scripture I want to make note of Boaz’s character and compassion.
Ruth 2:4–16 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May Yahweh be with you.” And they said to him, “May Yahweh bless you.”
And see this scene. Boaz arrives after the work begins. And as he approaches his laborers he blesses them this tells me a couple of things about Boaz. First it shows that he knew his workers. He wasn’t an absentee landlord. We also find that he knew even the normal gleaners that would come into his field because he notices when there is a stranger among them. The second thing we notice about him concerns his greeting. The Lord be with you. This is a celebratory greeting. It is a celebration of the fact that the 10 years of famine has ended and that Israel has returned to the worship of Yahweh God. And that God’s blessing is now on them and on their fields. This also tells us that Boaz faith is not just confined to times of formal worship but his faith governs his workplace his authority his speech and his generosity. Let’s read on.
5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was [d]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
Boaz notices someone among the gleaners who he has not seen before. He notices Ruth. So,
6 The young man [e]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the fields of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”
Doesn’t this tell you so much about Ruth’s character? This is the young Moabite girl who returned with Naomi from the fields of Moab. Remember she’s the one that demonstrated such devotion to her mother-in-law that she forsook her own country and joined herself to the nation of Israel. That says so much about her character but also look at how she behaved herself while in Boaz Field. First off, she asked permission to glean in his field. Now, by law she didn’t have to ask permission to glean. The law required that owners allow gleaners in their fields but she doesn’t approach it as though it is something odd to her or something that she deserves she asked permission. Then notice her work ethic the man in charge of the Reapers has noticed that she continued working from the morning until that point and that she did not quit except to take a little rest in the shelter.
This reminds me of another character in scripture. Remember the story when Abraham’s servant went to get a bride for Isaac? And the servant came to the well and said to a young lady there Rebecca give me something to drink. And then the young lady said I’ll get you a drink and I’ll water your camels as well. And she diligently went back and forth to the well towing water back and forth to a trough to water the camels of the servant. That showed an incredible work ethic. Very similar to the diligence of Ruth in this passage of Scripture. So let’s go back to the scripture.
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Have you not heard, my daughter?
He calls her daughter probably indicative of the age difference between Boaz and Ruth. We learn later on in the Book of Ruth that Boaz commended her for not pursuing young men for marriage. That would indicate that he is not a young man anymore. But this is what he says to her.
Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but [f]stay here with my young women.
You don’t need to leave my fields during this harvest season. Don’t go to another field. We are in the barley harvest and after the barley harvest is the wheat harvest. You should stay here through all of that.
9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the young men not to touch you.
Some have taken this to mean that he instructed his young men against any kind of violence or sexual overtures to Ruth. A foreign young lady in Israel might have had some danger from unsavory characters who would take advantage of the fact that she had no protectors. But I think this has more to do with the nature of being a gleaner. The law stated that the poor were allowed to glean after the harvesters in a field. The original law sounds more like the harvesters have completed the entire job of harvesting the grain they have left some grain in the field and have moved on to their next task. This would leave an empty field where the poor could then enter and try to fine grain left behind. But in the practice of gleaning it became normal for gleaners to follow directly behind the Reapers as they reap field and there would have been some gleaners, may be more aggressive than others, who pressed their advantage, reaching even into the area that the Reapers had not yet reaped. On those occasions, the Reaper’s might physically grab the gleaner. Or verbally chastise them for pressing too far into the unreaped field. Bo as his saying I’ve commanded my min to not touch you. Then he goes on
And if you are thirsty, go to the [g]water jars and drink from what the young men draw.”
His workers would have pots of water that they would draw from the well and maybe bring out with a wagon to the field for his workers. He is telling Ruth you can drink from that water. Well all this attention astounds ruth.
10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, though I am a foreigner?” 11 Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you forsook your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12 May Yahweh fully repay your work, and may your wages be full from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”
This is the second time someone is praying for God to extend covenant faithfulness toward her to recompense her for her kindness toad naomi. Remember that Naomi prayed that God would bless her by giving her a home and a family. And now Boaz is praying that God will repay her for her devotion. Now, talk about happenstance. Boaz here is asking God to repay her, and he is the very one that will be the agency through which she is repaid. And he says, You are now under the wings of care and refuge of the god of Israel. That is such a beautiful picture. This image of God is not unique to Boaz. In fact it originates from
Exodus 19:4 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
Deuteronomy 32:11-12 11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them; He carried them on His pinions. 12 Yahweh alone guided him, And there was no foreign god with him.
I also find it interesting how often this imagery is found in the book of Psalms.
Psalm 17:8 — “Hide me in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 36:7 — “The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 57:1 — “In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge.” Psalm 61:4 — “Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings.” Psalm 63:7 — “In the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.” Psalm 91:4 — “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.”
And who compiled the Psalms? None other than King David who is the direct descendant of Boaz from this story. Ruth responds.
13 Then she said, “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken to the heart of your servant-woman, though I am not like one of your servant-women.” But Boaz compassion doesn’t end there.
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “[h]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” You eat among my workers and eat the food that I have provided for them. So she sat beside the reapers; and he [i]served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. This indicates that he actually gave her her portion of food to eat. This allowed her to keep back some that she would give to Naomi later. 15 Then she rose to glean, and Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not dishonor her. If she gets too far into the area where you are reaping don’t chastise her for it . 16 Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and [j]leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” And guys I want you to accidentally drop grain for her to pick up.
We must note that Boaz did more than fulfill the gleaning law; he went beyond it by ensuring Ruth received protection, access, a place at the meal, and abundant provision. I can’t help but think of Jesus when I read this story. Boaz is a type of Christ. He is our kinsman Redeemer.
Boaz receives a foreigner; Christ brings Gentiles near (Ephesians 2:11–19). 11 Therefore, remember that formerly you—the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off [a]have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Boaz provides bread and safety; Christ is the Bread of Life and the refuge of sinners (John 6:35). Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Boaz acts generously toward one who cannot repay him; Christ redeems those who could never redeem themselves.
Ordinary Providence
This is Boaz going over and above what the law commanded or what society expected. And it is an example of God’s provision. This is how God provides.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over.
Ruth 2:17–20 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an [a]ephah of barley. 18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave [b]Naomi what she had left after [c]she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you [d]work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had [e]worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of Yahweh who has not forsaken his lovingkindness to the living and to the dead.” Then Naomi said to her, “The man is [f]our relative; he is one of our kinsman redeemers.”
Ruth returns with abundance. She brings home about an ephah of barley—a substantial amount, roughly 20 dry quarts. This would be about 30 pounds of grain. Imagine her coming to Naomi’s door. She is loaded down. She is exhausted from a long hard day of Labor. She is filthy from the day of work in the fields but she is elated at what she is bringing. Contrast this to Naomi when they originally arrived back in Bethlehem. She said to the people don’t call me pleasant call me bitter because I went away full and I have returned empty. Ruth has done the opposite here she left the house that morning empty and now she is returning full and she is not returning she likely has a great big smile on her face.
And She Not only brings Naomi The grain harvest but also the food she saved from her meal with Boaz. The chapter moves from Ruth searching for scraps to Ruth bringing home abundance.
And now Naomi begins to see the hand of God. She sees Ruth, exhausted, dirty, but with a big smile. Now I think Naomi is beginning to see the extraordinary behind the ordinary. So she asks.
19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you [n]work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” And Ruth tells her the story.
So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had [o]worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
Boaz? Now Naomi gets to thinking.
20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of Yahweh who has not forsaken his lovingkindness to the living and to the dead.” Then Naomi said to her, “The man is [p]our relative; he is one of our kinsman redeemers.”
Now this is an interesting part of the story. Because, as hearers of this story we know more than both naomi and Ruth. Ruth knows whose field it was that she gleamed in but she doesn’t know who he is. Naomi knows who he is but at the time didn’t know whose field Ruth had gleaned in. But we know both and we already have a glimmer of where the story is going. And now Naomi gets that glimmer. But I want you to note that it goes right over Ruth’s head. Naomi says he is one of our kinsmen redeemers. But Ruth didn’t understand that. She immediately goes on to say.
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “[q]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should [r]stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”
And Naomi replies to that.
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not oppress you in another field.”
But you know what Naomi is thinking. Don’t you know what Naomi is thinking? This is Yente from Fiddler on the roof. Matchmaker matchmaker make me a match. Boaz is there near kinsman. There go well.
The goel (kinsman-redeemer) was a close family member responsible to protect a relative’s family, land, freedom, and justice. The main passages are:
In Ruth, Boaz acts as a goel primarily by redeeming Elimelech’s land and accepting responsibility to preserve Mahlon’s family line through marriage to Ruth. He was willing, but the nearer redeemer had the first right to act (Ruth 4:1–10).
Through Boaz there could be salvation from poverty, a preservation of illumlex line, a restoration of Blessedness.
Application: God may not change every circumstance at once,
In the last verses
23 So she [s]stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth gleaned in the fields through both the barley and wheat harvest. (timeline) April through late May or early June.6 to 8 weeks This is time. Time for Boaz to know Ruth. To know Boaz. Peru’s faith to be proven her devotion and worship to God.
but He often gives enough evidence to strengthen faith for the next step. Naomi does not yet see the whole ending, but she now sees the Redeemer’s name.
V. God’s Providence Leads Us Ultimately to Jesus Christ, Our True Redeemer
Ruth 2:20–23
Boaz is “one of” the redeemers—not the final Redeemer. Ruth 2 creates anticipation that will be fulfilled in chapters 3 and 4. But the whole book finally points beyond Boaz.
Conclusion
John Flavel’s “Hebrew words” analogy:
Hebrew is read from right to left—the opposite direction from English. Flavel’s point is that God’s providence often works that way. We want to read our lives forward: “What will happen next? Where is this leading? How will God provide?” But usually we understand providence backward. We look back and realize, “That ordinary event was not random. God was already arranging provision before I knew I needed it.”
“The providences of God are like Hebrew words, they can only be read backwards.”
Ruth did not wake up knowing she would meet Boaz. She simply took the next faithful step. She went to glean. Boaz went to inspect his field. Naomi asked a question. Ruth spoke a name.
None of it appeared dramatic. Yet every detail was moving toward redemption.
When your life feels ordinary, uncertain, or empty, remember Ruth 2: the God who governs fields, footsteps, conversations, and harvests is still at work. What looks circumstantial to us is providential to Him.
And His greatest provision is not merely a better circumstance. It is a Redeemer—Jesus Christ.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).