What does the Bible say about coincidence?

But were all these remarkable happenings just a series of coincidences? By no means: they were the movings of the hand of God, though He Himself remained hidden. God was behind the scenes of man's busy little world; but then, as has very well been observed, He moves all the scenes that He is behind. Moreover He moves them in favour of His people, if not always for their temporal preservation and advancement always for their spiritual good and the advancement of His own purposes.

"And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and her hap was to light on the part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech". (Ruth 2:3)

Her hap was, in other wards, "it so happened." We should have called it "a chance happening," "a coincidence" perhaps, but it was in reality one of those Divine over-rulings which alter the very course of our lives. They come to all of us, to reader and writer alike. Perhaps the very fact of this little book coming into your hand [or this document popping up in your browser] is one of these divine over-rulings, for its message may mean in your life what the "lighting on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz" meant to Ruth. May it be so, is the writer's sincere prayer.

Who was this Boaz, and what has he to do with the story? He was of the kindred of Elimelech. In other words, he was a relation by birth of that one who departed from Bethlehem-Judah for a strange country, but whilst he was indeed a kinsman by birth, yet he was in no way linked with Elimelech in his disastrous choice to go down to Moab. Boaz did not depart from the land, he remained in it and kept his inheritance complete, whilst Elimelech forfeited his. These two characteristics were the essential qualifications of a Kinsman-redeemer according to the law of the Lord. He had:

We see how everything is ordered of God, not by Ruth. She does not know in whose field she is gleaning: "Her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz." Humanly speaking, it was Rebekah's hap to be at the well when Abraham's servant came in search for a bride for his master's son; it was the hap of the woman of Samaria to meet the Stranger from Judea, who had such words of life and grace to tell her. But we know that what is man's "hap" is God's purpose, the purpose of love of Him who sees the end from the beginning and plans it all. His eye was upon Rebekah, and He made her go out to the well the first to meet the servant of Abraham. He constrained the woman of Samaria to go where she would meet the Son of God, and have her life transformed by the message He brought her. He knows and He draws each of us, at the appointed time and in the appointed way, to the place of blessing. How wonderful are His ways, and what love there is behind what seem to be the merest incidents. God is absolutely sovereign. All our blessings are from Him alone. The work of grace, from beginning to end, is His. Therefore to Him alone is all the praise.

Nor, as it appears, did Ruth on setting out to glean intend to seek the field of Boaz, her mother-in-law's kinsman. Early in the morning she went forth humbly as a poor stranger to gather up a gleaner's portion of corn wherever opportunity offered, not however, without a firm trust that the God of Israel under Whose wings she had come to take refuge, would guide and protect her. "And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me, I pray, go to the field and glean among the ears of corn after (him) in whose sight I shall find favour. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. And she went; and she came and gleaned in the fields after the reapers; and she chanced to light on an allotment of Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech" (Ruth 2:2-3). To outward seeming, Ruth by "chance"' chose the field of Boaz, but to faith it was by God's devising and directing that she went to the field of a pious and gracious man who was her mother-in-law's kinsman by marriage, and in whose eyes she quickly found favour.

In many cases we cannot discern God’s providential dealings at first sight. We have already noted that His name is not mentioned at all in this little book whereas His finger is clearly seen. He was not manifesting Himself but at the same time He was acting behind the scenes and neither Esther nor Mordecai may have had any idea of what He was doing in their favour. They surely had many questions but perhaps no answers. Yet all happened exactly according to His foreknowledge and counsel. Only at the end of the book does this become clear (ch. 10). At the beginning everything looked very different. Mordecai was supposed to be hanged and all of the Jews were threatened by death and extermination. However, God had it in mind to glorify Mordecai and this is what He did in the end. It was part of His purpose to save His people, which He also accomplished. Instead of fear of death and threatening we read of ‘welfare’ and ‘peace’ (10:3).

God is not only in control of the destiny of peoples and nations. Nor is His interest limited to the big issues in our lives. Rather, He holds everything is His mighty hand — even the small details of everyday life. Very often we do not take this into account and we ask questions — Why? How long? etc. However, our limited perception does not mean that His dealings with us are not real. They are! It was God who kept sleep away from king Ahasuerus. It was God who directed the king not to ask for some women to attend him and distract him (which was quite usual at court at that time) so that he asked to see ‘the book of the records’ (6:1). And it was God who directed his attention to the record this contained concerning the way Mordecai had saved his life in the past. Was all that just by chance? Not at all! God had all these small and inconspicuous details in His mighty hands. In the end, all these things turned out to fulfil His plans.

God’s providential dealings are comprehensive and all-embracing

If we take the whole universe there is not a single thing, however small, left to chance. Nothing can happen without God's commission or permission. He either permits it, or it is according to His will. God permitted man to fall. If you could take all the mystery out of the Bible you might have proof that it was not of divine origin. The wisest amongst us would own that he has but touched the fathomless depths of the word of God.

It is impossible to connect the idea of chance with any of the ways of God. Not even a sane man will commence a work without having in his mind the image of that upon which the labour of his hands is to be employed. A man may not be able to perfect his idea; he may find, as his work proceeds, that it will not answer the purpose for which he intended it, and therefore he may have with reluctance to abandon it; he may even learn something in the midst of his toil which may cause him to make considerable alterations, so that the thing when finished is very different from his original conception. This comes from being unable to grasp at the outset every detail connected with the subject in hand, and everything that will be necessary to do, in order to arrive at perfection.

"The lot is cast into the lap," that is, like a dice being thrown, with people depending on "luck" to favor them. But the believer depends on God. Even if the above methods are used, it is not luck that disposes the result, but the Lord, who intervenes in men's activities (v. 33).

The word translated "chance" in Luke 10 means a coincidence and this is the only occurrence of this particular word in the New Testament. It just happened that at that time the priest came along. He did not go there by any design to help the man, but just happened to be passing and left the man as he found him. "And a certain priest happened to go down that way," (N. Tr.).

30 Many speak of providence as a guide. Providence does sometimes control, but it never, properly speaking, guides us; it guides things. If I am going to a place to preach, and I find, when I get to the terminus, that the train has started, God has ordered things about me (and I may have to be thankful for the over-ruling); but it is not God's guiding me; for I should really have gone, had the train not left: my will was to go. All we get of this guidance of providence is very blessed; but it is not guidance by the Spirit of God, not guidance by the "eye," but rather by the "bit" of God. Though providence over-rules, it does not, properly speaking, guide.