An Introduction to Ruth

An Introduction to Ruth

Ruth 1:1-5

Background

There are only two books in the Bible that bear the names of women: the book of Esther and the book of Ruth. However, these two books have nothing in common. In fact, they stand in stark contrast to each other.

For example, God is not mentioned in the book of Esther one time, but you can sense His sovereignty and control behind the scenes of the story. In the book of Ruth God is referenced over 37 times and there is no mistaking His work in the lives of the people.

The book of Esther is the story of a Jewish woman who marries a Gentile King and saves her people from extinction. Meanwhile, the book of Ruth is the story of a Gentile woman who marries a Jewish man and gives birth to the family of a king. So, the two books have nothing in common but have some incredible contrasts.

Ruth is an Old Testament book, written in narrative form, which means it is a story. And this story takes place around 1100 B.C. during the time of the Judges.

The time of the judges was one of the darkest moments for the nation of Israel. It was a time of social unrest and civil war. The Jewish people had settled in the promise land, but they failed to drive the inhabitants from the land out. So, they were constantly at war.

Even though the book of Ruth is a story that took place during the time of the Judges, we know it was written much later, because 4:17 refers to David and tells us, the child born to Ruth is the grandfather of King David.

That is one of the main reasons this story was written, to connect the time of the Judges to the time of the kings of Israel, and ultimately to the Lord Jesus Christ, because we know Jesus was born a descendant of David.

Tradition has it that Ruth was written by the prophet Samuel, which makes perfect sense. Samuel was the final priest during the period of the Judges. He was also the prophet that anointed the first two Kings of Israel: King Saul and King David. So, again we see the connection between the time periods, and it is widely accepted that Samuel wrote the book of Ruth.

In essence, Ruth is the story of a marriage that leads to the birth of a child and there is nothing more natural than that. That happens every day. It is a story of courtship and love we can all relate to.

But this is also a story full of odd social and cultural practices we are not familiar with. For example, in chapter three Ruth is at a harvest festival and that night, she uncovers Boaz’ feet as sign she is interested in Him. In Chapter four the kinsmen redeemer removes his sandal in the city gate, and he gives it to Boaz as a sign of bowing out of the deal for Ruth. So, there are some things here we are familiar with but there will also be some things we don’t understand.

I see at least three key themes in the book of Ruth. 1. Is the providence of God. We see decisions being made by people of their own free will, but God’s will, is being accomplished in the world. We see people making mistakes and facing consequences for their mistakes, but in the end, God gets the victory. He is sovereign and in control.

The second key theme is redemption. This is a story of the redemption of a woman. But it’s not the woman you would think it is. It’s not Ruth but it’s Naomi. Naomi is the main character in this story. Ruth and Boaz are important characters who play key roles, but notice the story begins with Naomi suffering incredible loss. She loses her husband and two sons. But the story ends with her holding her grandchild in her lap full of joy and redeemed.

This is the story of the redemption of Israel because with the birth of this child we have the beginning of King David, the greatest King in the history of Israel. He would unite the nation and lead them to peace, wealth, and prosperity.

And ultimately, this is a story of the redemption of the world, because Jesus would be born through the lineage of king David, as the Savior of the world. Later, in the 1st chapter of Matthew we learn that Ruth is one of 4 women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.

The third key theme we will see in this story is faithfulness. Now this is where Ruth and Boaz take center stage. We see their faithfulness to Naomi, to each other, and to God. Their faithfulness should serve as an example for us to follow.

Our passage this morning gives us the setting for the book of Ruth. We are going to learn that it is important to choose to live in God’s will for your life. (Read)

1 Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.

2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephraimites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.

3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.

4 They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband. [1] (Pray)

In every life there are defining moments, key crossroads we come to where decisions must be made. Sometimes the crises we face are the result of our own actions and sometimes they are the result of decisions made by others.

For example, if I don’t eat right and it results in poor health that’s my fault. But if on the way home from church today I get run over by a drunk driver, that’s the result of a decision by someone else, that could affect my life forever.

When we think of defining moments in life, we think of choosing a school to attend or who we will marry, or career choices. And those are truly defining moments.

No one chooses to have a life altering accident or a life-threatening disease. Yet these moments define our lives as well.

In our text this morning Elimelech is a man who made the wrong choice, and it had a terrible effect on his family. He decided to move his wife and children away from God and God’s people. And after suffering the tragedy of that mistake his wife, Naomi is left all alone and has no choice but to return home, back to God and back to God’s people.

what we learn from this passage the importance of choosing to live in the will of God for your life.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is the time, Vs 1. The story begins by telling us when this takes place. “Now it came about when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land.”

It’s important to understand the author is not trying to give us a time stamp, or a date when this took place. This is not like when FDR said, “December 7th, 1941, is a day that would live in infamy.” No, what the author is doing here is painting a picture for us of what life was like during the days of Ruth. He wants us to know this was a difficult time.

The time of judges was a time of warfare, lawlessness, violence, and reckless behavior. It was a time of immorality and idolatry, when people did whatever they wanted to do and made up their own rules. It reminds me of what life was like in the Wild West of America, with gunslingers at the OK Corral.

In fact, the final phrase in the book of Judges tells the story. Judges 21:25 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” In other words, there was no rules, no authority, and the people had abandoned God.

The time of the Judges was marked by a repeated cycle of rebellion. Then God would judge the people and they would repent, and then God would raise up a deliverer; like Gideon or Sampson, and it would all happen again.

Notice Vs.1 tells us “There was a famine in the land.” A famine in the Bible is a sign of God’s judgment. Whenever there was a drought or famine it was because the people had sinned against God and God would dry up their resources.

Moses tells us why in Deuteronomy 28:15. “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statues with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”Well, what are the curses?

Look at verses 23-24, The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth, which is under you, iron. The Lord will make the rain over your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.” So, God warned them, that if they rebelled against Him, there would be a famine in the land.

That is the backdrop for the book of Ruth. From a social standpoint it was a very dark time because it was a time of departure from God. And we see the same thing taking place in America today.

We live in a time of departure from God, where everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes. We see violence and lawlessness in our streets. We see confusion over sexual orientation and gender dysphoria in our schools.

The problem is we have abandoned God. So, the adults in the room can no longer call balls and strikes, and If you speak out against anything you are a racist or a bigot.

But God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Those who live for God must live by the timeless truth of the Bible.

What we see in the story of Ruth, is a woman that refuses to live by the standards of the world but instead chooses to live for God, and we need people like that today. People who are willing to go against the grain of a world that has lost its way.

It is a choice we make. It is important to choose to live in the will of God for your life.

The next thing I want you to see in this story is the place, vs. 1-2. Vs. 1 says, “And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.”

This takes place in Bethlehem and It’s ironic there would be a famine in the land of Bethlehem, because Bethlehem was surrounded by grain fields, and known as the “house of bread.” But at this moment, there is no bread in Bethlehem.

Vs.2 repeats the fact this family is from Bethlehem, only this time it gives us more information. We are told they are “Ephraimites of Bethlehem in Judah.” That means they are direct descendants of the tribe of Ephraim, one of the original twelve tribes of Israel.

That is important because the author wants us to know this decision by Elimelech to move his family from the promised land is a sin. Why? Because God had placed them in Bethlehem.

God delivered them out of slavery in Egypt and brought them into the promise land. He had given them the land of Judah.

That means Elimelech did not choose to live in Bethlehem, but God choose it for Him. That was where God wanted him to be, and Elimelech should have stayed there.

You see, you and I can serve God equally, in any city in the world. It doesn’t matter if we go to church in Monroe, or Temperance. But the children of Israel were called to occupy the promise land. To build a nation there that would serve Yahweh as their God.

Now, because times have become difficult, and Elimelech no longer trusts the Lord. He moves his family from where God wanted him to be, to Moab, and they suffered incredible tragedy because they did.

It is important we understand that Moab was the enemy of Israel. They were the product of a relationship of incest between Lot and his oldest daughter. They were an immoral, idolatrous people who were always at war with Israel.

So, Elimelech has chosen to leave God’s promise, to leave God’s people, and live among God’s enemies.

Let me ask you this, where do you live your life? Are you living in the will of God? Are you more comfortable with God’s enemies or God’s people?

Listen to God’s warning concerning Moab. Deuteronomy 23:3-4 says, “No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord, because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.”

You see, Elimelech decision to move his family to Moab was doomed from the beginning. Because he was choosing to live outside of the will of God. Instead of repenting of his sin and praying for forgiveness, he chooses to run from God.

Sometimes the greatest decision we can make for ourselves, and our family, is to stay the course. To go through the difficult times and trust God to come through. If you are suffering today, because of the consequences of sin, the worst thing you can do is run from God.

I am reminded of the prophet Jonah. God called him to be a witness to the city of Nineveh, but he ran from God instead. He learned the hard way you can’t run from God. Jonah was thrown from a ship into the sea and swallowed by a great fish. It wasn’t until he repented his sin that he was spit out on the shore and saved.

And what about Adam? When Adam sinned in the garden, he hid himself from God. And not only did he suffer the consequences of his sin, but we do as well. The good news is we can repent, confess, and be forgiven.

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God wants to forgive us, and repentance and confession are always the road that bring us back to God.

The next thing I want you to see in this story is the tragedy, Vs. 3-5. Elimelech’s decision turns out to be a tragedy for his family.

Unlike the story of the prodigal son who went into a faraway country but realized he made a mistake, and he went home. Elimelech didn’t realize his mistake, he stayed too long, and now it was too late. Vs. 3 says, “Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.”

I want you to notice the progression of time in the story. Vs1 tells us they went to sojourn in Moab. The word “sojourn” means they were initially planning on just passing through. Then Vs. 2 tells us they remained there.

Now we don’t know how long they were in Moab when Elimelech died, but Vs. 4 tells us his sons were still there ten years later and were married Moabite women. So, Moab had become there home. What began as a sojourn, a just passing through, turned in to living apart from God and God’s people.

This is an example of what happens in the lives of Christians every day. We choose to walk away from the church and become lost in the world.

Now, that doesn’t mean those Christians are not saved and going to heaven, but it means their relationship with God is broken. When we choose the world over God, the more difficult life becomes and the more difficult it becomes to come home.

There is a good friend of mine, we were ordained at the same time 21 years ago. He and his family served God faithfully for years. Then he took a job to make more money, but he had to work every weekend. He said, “I am only going to do it for a little while, just to get ahead.”

But the truth is, his family never did get a head and now they have been out of church for church 10 years. His son, who was just a baby at our ordination is a self-proclaimed atheist, who lives an alternative lifestyle. We don’t think of the consequences of our choices until it’s too late.

Well, that is the story of Elimelech, it was too late and apparently after ten years, it was too late for his sons as well. Look at Vs. 5, “Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.”

Notice the name Naomi is no longer used in this verse, but now she is called “the woman.” That is because she has lost her identity. A woman’s identity in the ancient world was tied to her husband and sons. But Naomi was a widow now without any children. In the space of half a verse her entire world collapsed.

Who was going to take care of her now? No family meant no food, and government-sponsored welfare programs didn’t exist in Moab. She was a stranger in a strange land, a woman all alone in a family-oriented culture.

So, Naomi faced another defining moment in her life, but this time there wasn’t much of a choice at all. She would have to swallow her pride and go home; back to God and back to God’s people.[2]

The good news is God invites us to come back to Him. When we realize life has led us down the wrong road, He invites us to come back and be forgiven.

We suffer the consequences for the decisions we make, but God is not trying to punish us for our mistakes. He wants to bring healing, hope, and restoration to our lives.

That is the picture of Jesus Christ. He invites us back to God and He restores our lives. (No one is excluded from that invitation). All who will call on His name will be saved. Anyone who is willing to come to the cross and ask for forgiveness will be set free.

What we learn from this story is, It is important to choose to live in the will of God for your life. It is important to fill your heart and your mind with His Word and surround yourself with His people so that you experience His blessing.

[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Ru 1:1–6). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [2]Duguid, I. M. (2005). Esther and Ruth(R. D. Phillips & P. G. Ryken, Eds.; p. 135). P&R Publishing.