Committed - Ruth
Notes
Transcript
Preliminary:
Preliminary:
Invite to Ruth
Introduction:
Introduction:
Dr. Sandra Richter says there are three main reasons for studying the book of Ruth:
Its a great story...
Its a story about a family who’s going through the highs and lows the griefs the losses the successes that every family experiences over the course of its life.
Like any great epic the characters of this book just grab our hearts and compel us to get invested in their story.
The book of Ruth is a great story and by the time the narrator is done with us we are so invested in Ruth and Naomi.
We are injured by their losses
We are so hopeful for their successes
We find ourselves looking at Ruth in the field and Boaz the great champion standing on the side and we are hoping and praying with everything in us he will see in this young Moabite what we are seeing.
By the time that the baby is finally placed in Naomi’s lap and her wrinkled old hands have a chance to rock the baby boy we find ourselves in tears of joy.
All of her losses have finally been reversed
It’s not only a great story but it is a story about Everyday lives lived with extraordinary integrity
real people in real life with all of its pain, all of its inconsistencies, all of its confusion and in the everyday circumstances of that very real life - they choose integrity every time
Dr. Richter goes on to describe Ruth as the foil of Boaz - she is the outsider, without any money or substance, she has no influence, no voice, she is essentially an illegal immigrant who has snuck over the border to work as a day laborer in the fields.
Boaz on the other hand is the complete insider, he’s very wealthy, he’s very influential, when he speaks people listen,
Yet both of these people the one who has everything and the one who has nothing - are described by our narrator with the same adjective …hayil [kyle]
It is a word that can be used to describe a strong warrior - in fact Gideon was a mighty man of hayil
It can be someone who is wealthy
At its essence the word means - somebody or something that has power
From the get go we are met with the truth that Ruth - a complete outsider - is described as a woman of hayil -
And Boaz the insider - in many stories you would anticipate as corrupt because of his insider status - yet he is described as a man of hayil
They show profound and exceptional dare I say extraordinary integrity
Extraordinary integrity is described as
Rigorous honesty
self-sacrifice
hard work
kindness
Faithful in little and therefore faithful in much.
The third reason Dr. Richter gives for why we should study the book of Ruth is because of its Canonical context
Canonical has to do with the word Canon - not a big gun but the books that the people of faith over the millennia have said - “these belong in the Bible” - the Bible we use has 66 canonical books - beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation
The content of those canonical books are important - we learn from them
But also the order of the canonical books is important
Ruth comes right after Judges in Christian canon
The book of Judges is about a description of the people of God during one of their most corrupt eras of history
If one was to write a movie on Judges it would have to be rated R or worse
It was in the book of Judges an Israelite girl was not safe on the streets of her own town
even the Levites the priests were on the take -
In Judges you could expect to be kidnapped, murdered, raped if you went out alone … by the people of God
Right after this - right after the book of Judges - this dark time in Israels history comes the story of Ruth
This is important because it tells us that even in the most corrupt of eras there was a man names Boaz - who was not willing to have that kind of behavior on his watch -
When this Moabite woman an outsider - who everyone expected to be “that” girl - and she shows up and starts demonstrating integrity - Boaz takes notice and he says “That one is seeking shelter”
And you know what shelter she was seeking - she’s seeking shelter under the wings of the God of Israel -
Boaz says as a man of the God of Israel - is going to make sure she gets it.
Ruth is 100% narrative from the History section. A small book of four chapters, 85 verses, and 2,056 words.
The incidents recorded in the narrative are from the Judges Govern Israel Biblical era. Ruth 1:1
1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Some feel it was written during the time of Gideon because a famine is mentioned. But it is more likely...
“It was written sometime after 1010 B.C., since that was when David took the throne of Israel.
It refers to a “former times” in Israel indicating it was written years after the actual events occured.
It includes the lineage of David at the conclusion, indicating it was written during the early monarch period.” (GBS&C BIST230 )
We do not know the author - although same as Judges - Jewish tradition points to Samuel
Questions can be raised about this though as some of it seems to have been written during the early reign of David.
Ruth is mentioned twelve times in the book - but only one other time in the Bible (Matthew 1:5)
It is remarkable that the book is named after Ruth - for three reasons
1. Ruth was a Moabite (The only book in the OT canon named after a non-Israelite)
2. Ruth is a woman - not many books in the Bible are named after women
3. There is debate as to whether Ruth is the main character of the book or not.
Scholars have recognized the importance of direct speech in this book. Of the 1,294 words in the book, 678 occur on the lips of the characters. However, of the three main actors in the drama, Ruth speaks least often, and her speeches are the shortest (Block 1999, 588). Based on the plot, the book could be titled “The Book of Naomi,” but on the basis of the dialogue, the concluding episode and the final genealogy, “The Book of Boaz,” also would be appropriate.1
1 D. I. Block, “Ruth 1: Book Of,” ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (Downers Grove, IL; Nottingham, England: IVP Academic; Inter-Varsity Press, 2008), 673.
The key verse is found in Ruth 1:16 Lets read that -
16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
OUTLINE:
Ruth’s Renunciation (Ruth 1:1-22) [Ruth renounces her Moabite gods for the true God of Israel]
Tragedy and death (Ruth 1:1-5)
Bread in Israel (Ruth 1:6)
Naomi’s three commands to return (Ruth 1:7-15)
Ruth’s renunciation of her people and her gods (Ruth 1:16-18)
Naomi’s Bitter Return (Ruth 1:19-22)
Ruth’s Reaping (Ruth 2:1-23) [Ruth finds and reaps in the field of Boaz]
Meeting Boaz (Ruth 2:1-3)
Boaz Notices Ruth (Ruth 2:4-17)
Naomi Rejoices to hear of Boaz (Ruth 2:18-23)
Ruth’s Request (Ruth 3:1-18) [Ruth asks Boaz to marry her]
Naomi’s Plan (Ruth 3:1-5)
Ruth’s Proposal (Ruth 3:6-9)
Boaz’s Pledge (Ruth 3:10-13)
Ruth & Naomi’s Patience (Ruth 3:14-18)
Ruth’s Redemption (Ruth 4:1-22) [Ruth rejoices in her marriage and child]
Confronting the nearer Kinsman (Ruth 4:1-8)
Confirming Boaz as the Kinsman Redeemer (Ruth 4:9-12)
Connecting of Boaz & Ruth (Ruth 4:13-17)
Conclusion of Ruth by Genealogy (Ruth 4:18-22)
The Purpose:
What is the purpose of the book of Ruth? (Ans. 1) to exhibit faith and Godliness of some Israelites in a time of apostasy; 2) to illustrate the concept of a kinsman redeemer; 3) to show that God’s grace included the Gentiles; 4) to trace and ancestry of David back to Judah. (GBS&C BIST103)