The Book of Ruth
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Background information
Background information
The only book in the Old Testament named after a Gentile who is a moabites.
The moabites were descendant of Lot
Lot had two sons by his two daughters, The one he had through his firstborn daughter was Moab and the one he had through the second daughter was Ben-Amini, the father of Ammonites.
The name Ruth literraly means friend.
Ruth 1:1–5 (NKJV)
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 Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.
5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
Bethlehem literally means the House of bread
Because there was famine in Bethlehem ( house of bread) Elimelech and his wife Naomi and their children went to the land of Moab looking for bread.
We have to be very careful that we do not depart our spirtual domain, spirtual boundaries because there is a problem or famine where we are.
Instead of staying put, and trusting God and waiting on God’s visitation, they left and went out of the promise land to a strange land.
They did not realise what they were about to loose. By leaving the Bethlehem they were leaving the protection of God
When Naomi family left, they the protection of God, into a land that God does not care nor is his eyes upon, nor is his protection upon.
So she manages to loose everything excpet her daughter’s in-law.
This was self inflicted sorrow,
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread.
The Lord will always visit his people, irregardless of any situation you face while you are in your spiritual domain, in the will of God, there is hope and visitation from God.
Interestingly, it is the fact that there was now bread in Bethlehem that led Naomi to return to her homeland, not the fact that she had lost her husband and children, and that she was outside the will of God, outside the promise land.
Naomi was more interested in bread and things of that nature than than the promise land. We will see a contrast between Naomi and Ruth.
Ruth 1:7-18
Verse 13, when you try to accomplish something outside the will of God, it is not going to prosper.
Orpah, when she realises her future is hopeless with Naomi, she turns back but ruth sticks to Naomi.
Ruth was special, because she chose to follow naomi and cling to her even unto death even though she will not gain anything in return.
It was her pure love for Naomi, and the God of Naomi, that enabled her to forget her family, her house and her relatives to be among a people she does not know and a land that is not her own.
10 Listen, O daughter, Consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father’s house;
11 So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
There is something about leaving waht you know and are acustomed for the sake of the Lord, not expecting anything in return, that makes you attractive in the eyes of the Lord.
Ruth 1:19-22
Bethlehem was a godly city, you can see their reaction at the return of Naomi, they were excited and happy that he who was lost had now been found.
They did not patronize her or insult her for leaving them in the difficult time of the famine. They were just glad she had return safe and sound. We will see later also the other virtue of this city.
This may be the reason why the Lord chose this city out of all the cities of Judah to bring christ into the world
Verse 21
She taught she returned empty, but the Lord had given her a remnant, something in her hand that would be the seed through which God will begin to restore her life and her lineage, RUTH.
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Ruth 2:1–23 (NKJV)
1 There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.
2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
Gleaning, was done by those who were poor, or strangers, they pick up the grains that fall on the ground after the reapers.
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
“and She happened to come” it seems it was a chance or considence that she came to BOaz filled but it was the plan of the Lord,
4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.
7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women.
9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”
10 So she fell on her face, bowed down 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 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before.
12 The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
Boaz realised that this woman has left all that she had and has taken refuge in the Lord his God, because there was nothing that Naomi could offer this woman.
Little did Ruth realize what God had instore for her, she might have taught that the favor she just had received from Boaz is plenty enough but there was more planned for her by God.
13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”
14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.
15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.
16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” 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 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.”
21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”
22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.”
23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
Ruth 3:1–18 (NKJV)
1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?
2 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
3 Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”
5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”
This was the attitude of Ruth, she was obedient and submissive. She had the meek and quiet spirit.
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her.
7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet.
9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.”
The literal translation “spread the corner of your garment over your maidservant”
If he spreads the corner of his gramet over her (take her under his wings) then she will be part of him.
She will no longer be a moabites, but she will take on the lineage of Boaz which is Judah,
Through Boaz she will become an israelite, and she wil take on his name, and become an heir to his house.
This is a type of Christ and the church.
We were Gentiles, outside of the commonwealth of Israel, without inheritance and hope, enemies of God by wicked works.
However when Christ Jesus, the Lion of Judah, spread his garment over us, and took us under his wing so to speak. When we put on his body in baptism, we were no longer Gentiles, we were no longer sinners but we took on his name and became his. As result we became heirs of his inheritance and fellow members of his house.
10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.
She was known throughout the city that she was virtous. Her life was not only pleasing in the sight of God but also in the sight of men.
12 Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I.
13 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”
15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.
16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “Is that you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her.
17 And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”
18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”
God will not rest until he finished the matters that concern his Church.
1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
Ruth 4 (NKJV)
1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
3 Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.
4 And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”
6 And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.
8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal.
9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi.
10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”
11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
12 May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.”
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, 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 close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!
15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”
Naomi, had something good out of the loss she experience in the land of Moab
The seed that she had gained from her daughter in law Ruth, would be to her a restorer of life and nourisher of her old age.
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him.
17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron;
19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab;
20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon;
21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed;
Salmon was the Husband of Rehab the harlot, so Boaz was the son of Rehab
5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
Hence Ruth and Rehab are in the lineage of Christ through Joseph.