Ruth

I Introduction

The Book of Ruth takes place at the time of the Judges. (around 1100 BC)

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

A. When the Judges ruled. The time of the Judges takes place after Israel leaves Egypt and enter the promised land of Canaan. But the days of the judges were dark days. The last verse of Judges explains why: ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.’ If ever there was a recipe for disaster, that was it. The Book of Judges is a record of the chaos that occurs when people rebel against God and do their own thing.

describes the unhappy cycle of that time:

1. The People Forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt

2. They Followed and Worshipped Various Gods of the peoples around them

3. Provoked to Anger, the Lord sent enemies against them

4. The People experienced great distress

5. In their Distress, the people cried out to the Lord

6. In Response the Lord Raised Up Judges (rescuing leaders), who saved them out of the hand of their enemies

7. When the Judge Died, the people returned to their rebellious ways, forsaking the Lord and so on

B. There was a Famine in the land.

So why was there a famine in the land? Why was there no food in the land that the Lord had promised would be full of abundant fruit? The answer is that the Lord’s warning of punishment is no idle threat. contains one of the many warnings the Lord gave his rescued people as he prepared them for life in the Promised Land. There was the promise of blessing as they followed his decrees and were careful to obey his commands (vv. 3–13), including the promise of rain in season, and the ground producing its crops and the trees their fruit. However, there was also the warning of what would happen if they did not listen to the Lord and obey him. The Lord warned:

But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit ().

Therefore, when, in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, the Lord was acting in accordance with the warning he had given—even in Bethlehem, which means ‘house of bread’. Bethlehem was a fertile place, a place of plenty, where the normally abundant grain harvests provided much to eat. It was a desirable place to live. But the ‘house of bread’ became the ‘house of no bread’, in accordance with the Lord’s warning.

C. Moab, Not a Place to Raise Your Kids

If Bethlehem was a great place for an Israelite to live, Moab was the opposite, or should have been. Moab was not a place to which any God-fearing Israelite would choose to go for a holiday, let alone take their family to live there. The Moabites were descended from Lot, after a sordid incident with his own daughter (see ). The relationship between Moab and Israel had never been good. It was Balak, king of Moab, who hired Balaam to curse the Israelites (). The women of Moab then seduced the Israelite men to indulge in sexual immorality and to worship their gods, causing the Lord’s anger to burn against his people (). It is no surprise, therefore, that as they entered the Promised Land, the people of Israel were commanded not to make a treaty of friendship with the Moabites ().

II Naomi Returns to Judah

A. The First Interchange ()

v.6 Naomi has hear that YHWH has provided food for Israel

v.7 Naomi set out to return

v. 8 She blesses her daughter in laws she is sending them to their mother’s home and in v 9 prays they would find security in the “house of her husband”. What is remarkable here is Naomi is invoking the name of YHWH in a foreign territory (Moab)

v. 10 Orpah and Ruth aren’t having any of it.

B. The Second Interchange ()

1st Arg. Naomi says why would you want to come home with me, do I have any more sons in my guts? v. 11

2nd Arg. Naomi is too old to get remarried v. 12

3rd Arg. “I am too bitter for you” Naomi is a bitter old woman who blames God for her crisis. Naomi feels she is the target of God’s overwhelming power and wrath. Orpah goes back but Ruth clings to Naomi. Orpah is not criticized for returning home.

C. Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem ()

Is it Naomi? The years of grief and deprivation have surely taken a toll on Naomi’s appearance.

Is Naomi interpreting her calamity correctly?

III Ruth Meets Boaz

The same hand that had sent the famine () and later provided food () is the hand that had brought Naomi and Ruth to Bethlehem precisely at the beginning of the harvest () and has now guided Ruth to that portion of the field belonging to specifically to Boaz.

Boaz First Speech:

Don’t glean anywhere else

Attach yourself to my servant girls

Don’t worry about harassment from male workers

Ruth can drink the water the men have drawn

Ruth response: Falls on the ground, “why should you notice me”

Why is Boaz nice to Ruth?

Fundamentally he is a good man

Boaz is kind to Ruth because God has prepared his heart for her.

Boaz Third Speech

Invites Ruth to the table (she is keeping her distance)

Encourages her to share the food

Dip the grain in the dipping sauce

Boaz serves her

Boaz gives her enough to satisfy

He is offering protection.

IV The Role of the Goel

The New American Commentary: Judges, Ruth Scene 4: The Results (2:17–23)

As a kinship term it denotes the near relative who is responsible for the economic well-being of a relative, and he comes into play especially when the relative is in distress and cannot get himself/herself out of the crisis. The Scriptures note five aspects of a gōʾēl’s redemptive role: (1) to ensure that the hereditary property of the clan never passes out of the clan (Lev 25:25–30); (2) to maintain the freedom of individuals within the clan by buying back those who have sold themselves into slavery because of poverty (Lev 25:47–55); (3) to track down and execute murderers of near relatives (Num 35:12, 19–27); (4) to receive restitution money on behalf of a deceased victim of a crime (Num 5:8); and (5) to ensure that justice is served in a lawsuit involving a relative (Job 19:25; Ps 119:154; Jer 50:34). The Israelite provision for the gōʾēl is based upon an assumption of corporate solidarity and the sanctity of the family/clan: to offend a relative is to offend oneself. The custom of redemption was designed to maintain the wholeness and health of family relationships, even after the person has died.

According to the Israelite custom in , the unmarried brother-in-law was obligated to marry the widow. To prevent the name of the deceased from dying out, the first born of this union should assume the name of the deceased.

What option did the closest relative have?

Accept moral responsibility for Elimelech’s estate, redeem the field, marry Ruth and ensure the well-being of Naomi

1

Redeem the field, pledge to marry Ruth, but renege on the deal to marry Ruth once the land deal is complete.

Reject the offer

Redeem the field and let Boaz redeem Ruth. Big problem if Ruth bears an heir, who would inherit the land.

The New American Commentary: Judges, Ruth (2) Ecclesiology: What Does the Book of Ruth Teach Us about the People of God?

To tie together the loose thematic strands, we may summarize the practical and theological lessons as follows:

1. God will not let his promises to Israel and Judah and David die.

2. God works in a mysterious way his wonders to perform and his goals to achieve.

3. In all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28).

4. Genuine piety is expressed primarily in devotion, sensitivity, grace, and kindness toward others and openness to the working of God.

5. God’s grace knows no boundaries. Even a despised Moabitess is incorporated into the nation of Israel. In fact, the royal [and Messianic!] line has Moabite blood in its veins.

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