The Book of Ruth
Notes
Transcript
We have seen the big story so far in the OT. But we are going to narrow it down to a family here. We are in the book of Ruth. And in the book of Ruth, we are going to have 3 main characters. We have Naomi, who is the mother-in-law. We have Ruth, who is the daughter-in-law. And we have Boaz, who is the kinsmen redeemer.
To set this book up, the first 5 verses give us a layout of what is going on. Naomi’s family was living in Bethlehem and a famine came about. So her and her husband, Elimelech, and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, all packed up and moved to Moab.
It is much like the book of Job with the idea of loss and return. And, I want to put this into your mind as we go through it, but it is a wonderful picture of the parable of the lost son. As we go through the story, see if you can see the elements of fleeing, loss, and a return back to the promise of the father.
So they are living in Bethlehem and a famine comes about. This is in the time of the Judges and if you remember how society was in the time of Judges, “people did what was right in their own eyes”. They did not care about what God had to say. And maybe that is what happens here at the beginning.
The famine is going on and the family decides to flee. They go to Moab. In our culture today, this may not seem like a big deal. We are hungry, there is no food growing here, so we move to where we can survive. So what is the big deal with it then?
Naomi’s family wasn’t just leaving land, they were leaving the land that God had promised them. They are trusting more in their own search for provisions than in God’s promise. We know that the Israelites had really stopped trusting God in the time of the judges. So Naomi’s family moves. But they move to a place where they worship other gods. So not only do they abandon the promise of God, they abandon God himself.
So Naomi is kind of the primary character in this book, although it spends some time on Ruth and Boaz. But it centers around Naomi and her dealings with her daughter in law and with God.
There is an overarching theme in this book of kindness. Ruth in her kindness to Naomi. Boaz in his kindness to Ruth. God and his kindness to his people to fulfill his promises through the messianic line. And if there is a way to summarize this book I would say that it is God preserving the messianic line through his providence.
She goes to Moab with her husband and sons. It says that her husband died. Her two sons then get married. One daughter-in-law is named Orpah and the other is named Ruth. Within 10 years, both of her sons died. So everything that she went to Moab with is now gone. Her husband and both of her sons, dead. So it is time to return home.
She tells her daughter-in-laws that they should stay with their families there in Moab. There is no way that she is able to have more sons for them to marry, so just stay there. In this exchange, we see the deterioration of Naomi’s view of God.
12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,
13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”
That the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.
Too often we try to blame God for the things in our life. There are times when God has worked things out a certain way. There are times when, even in our disobedience, God works things out. But there are times when the only person to blame is yourself. But, even when we think that God is working against us, God is still good.
When we surround ourselves with the right people, they will always point us to that. Naomi, in God’s kindness and providence, in the moments of frustration has Ruth. Ruth was right there with her. Naomi wasn’t the only one who had experienced loss, Ruth lost her husband as well. But, she had the right perspective.
15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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 will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
This declaration from Ruth to Naomi is wonderful. She is saying that she will leave her entire life behind her and not go back in order to be with Naomi. And that Naomi’s God will not be Ruth’s God. So they go to Bethlehem. They go back to where Naomi is from, back to the land that is promised to the people of Israel from God. It has been at least 10 years, but the people still know Naomi.
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
Call me bitter because God has dealt bitterly with me. I left and everything that I left with is gone so now I am back. I had hope when I left and now I am the antithesis of hope. Just utter bitterness.
But, even in the darkness of this exchange, there is hope. In God’s providence, they have shown up at the beginning of the barley harvest. The famine is gone, new life has come to the land, they return and now have hope.
How have you been bitter before and arrived at the barley harvest and seen hope?
So we have seen Naomi and Ruth. But there is a 3rd main character. We are introduced to him at the beginning of chapter 2.
1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
Remember, Elimelech has died. Naomi cannot provide a new son for Ruth. But, there is a relative. He is a kinsmen of Elimelech named Boaz. His name means vigorous and strong. Now, as we read the next verse, we need to understand that we are reading this from an already happened perspective. The author, in verse 1, is going ahead and introducing us to Boaz. Naomi and Ruth have not become acquainted with him yet.
So when we read verse 2,
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
When it says she is going to glean after him, she is not talking specifically about Boaz, but just whoever she will find favor with. And Naomi gives her the blessing to do so. Now, if you remember from the book of Judges and we didn’t get into it very much last week, but women were not dealt with very kindly at this time. So 2 widowers would have been outcasts to a degree.
Verse 3, she goes to the field and in God’s providence, she happens to end up in the field of Boaz. He comes to the field and looks out and sees Ruth. He asks the workers who that woman is because she caught his eye. They told him that she is the one who came back with Naomi. So Boaz goes and talks to Ruth.
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.
9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
He tells her to stay at his field and she is going to be taken care of. The time that she is living in is not kind to her, but he is. He shows her dignity and respect and says that she needs to stay here so that she is taken care of. Stay here and you will be safe. These men will not touch you.
10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
She doesn’t belong there. But he knows her heart. How she has loved for and cared for her mother-in-law. The same woman that she has no obligation to. So, because she has showed this kindness to Naomi, Boaz is showing kindness to Ruth. God has put him into a position to be able to make sure she is cared for. He makes sure she has water to drink. He gives her food to eat to the point where she is full. She has gone from losing her husband, leaving everything she knew behind her to go to a foreign land with her mother-in-law, being a widowed woman in a foreign land now, and she is provided for. Providentially because of God.
She gets barley from the field and takes it home. She takes her leftovers from the food her gave her and takes it home. She gives it to Naomi. And Naomi asks, “where did you get all of this from?”. See, Naomi knew that she went and was trying to get stuff to bring home. She knew that if she got anything from those scoundrels in the fields that it would be a miracle. But she came home with her arms filled with things. So she asks where she went.
English Standard Version Chapter 2
So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”
May God bless this man. Naomi says this, or rather Mara says this. Remember this is the same woman who has not spoken kindly of God and how he dealt with her. But may he deal with Boaz with blessings. But look what she says about the same God that she has talked bad about. She says in verse 20 that God’s kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead. She praises God about his kindness while she said that he dealt bitterly with her.
In what ways might we let our situations change our perspective about God?
She continued to go to the field of Boaz. Her and Naomi were taken care of. She kept going the rest of the harvest. And Naomi is thinking in her mind how she can make things better.
In chapter 3, Naomi talks to Ruth about Boaz. She tells her that he is being very kind to her and that she should consider maybe building the relationship to a step towards marriage. She gets Ruth to clean herself up and go down that night to what is called the threshing floor. Now, all of this is Naomi’s plan. Ruth just goes along with it.
Now, we have to take our culture out of this while we read this. This is not some sort of sexual encounter. Don’t try to read that into this.
3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”
5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
So that is what she does. This is not sexual. But she does this.
8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!
Boaz is not the type of man to wake up in the middle of the night with a woman in his bed. Now, she was technically at his feet.
9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
This is basically a marriage proposal. But it is not coming from Boaz, it is coming from Ruth. Very counter-cultural. Very straight forward. I want us to get married because you are my families redeemer. Boaz acknowledges her kindness with this.
He tells her that people know her reputation. And he acknowledges that yes, he is a redeemer. But he lets her know that there is a redeemer that is above him. He tells her that he is going to go to him. And that if this redeemer doesn’t want to redeem her, that he will. She goes back to Naomi and tells Ruth not to worry. She says that this matter is going to get settled quickly because Boaz won’t let it rest. So then we get to chapter 4.
So Boaz goes to the higher redeemer and explains to him the situation.
3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
Of course I will redeem it. But, Boaz throws something else in there. See, we can see Boaz scheming too like Naomi. Boaz wants to redeem her and marry Ruth. So he is trying to get the higher relative to deny it.
5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
So they make it legal. Boaz makes sure that the elders see the deal be made. They exchange sandals like men will shake hands today.
So what happens. This is the best part of this story right here.
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!
15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
This is the crux of this book. God, in his providence, took Naomi to Moab. Her sons got married to Moabite women. They were not able to have children. They died. She came back with Ruth. Ruth finds the redeemer kinsmen. They marry, and GOD gave her a son. The same God who had dealt bitterly with Naomi then dealt blessing with Ruth. God was working all of the heartache, all of the tragedy all for the line of Jesus.
And as Boaz acts as a kinsmen redeemer for Ruth, Jesus has acted as our redeemer. And when we put our faith in him and live for him, he redeems us.
Life Application: Trust God’s providence even in painful seasons. Christ is your Redeemer, faithfully working through hardship and hope.
