THE HAND OF THE LORD IN TIMES OF PROSPERITY
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THE HAND OF THE LORD IN TIMES OF PROSPERITY
There is a change in circumstances.
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 how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
Naomi heard that “the Lord had visited His people” in giving them grain.
Naomi was ready to return to Bethlehem and to her people there.
The fact that verse 6 says the Lord visited His people in giving them food could indicate that they had been under His chastening hand for some time, and now they were experiencing His blessing.
As Naomi prepared to return to Bethlehem, Ruth and Orpah chose to go with her.
How did Naomi respond to this according to Ruth 1:8–9?
Word Study
VISITED
“The LORD had visited His people in giving them bread” (Ruth 1:6).
The word for “visited” (paqad) in Ruth 1:6 is the same word Joseph used twice when speaking to his brothers in Egypt, “God will surely take care of (visit) you.”
(Genesis 50:24, 25) It refers to the helpful actions of a superior to those under him, in Ruth 1:6 the Lord Himself bringing benefit to His people.
As they were on the way to Bethlehem, Naomi urged them to return to their own homes where they could find security and the opportunity to remarry and raise a family. They still wanted to go with her. It was at that point that Naomi referred them to an Israelite custom concerning remarriage after the death of one’s husband.
And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
Naomi explained that she could not provide a husband for them from her offspring.
She would have to marry, bear two sons, and Orpah and Ruth would have to wait until the sons grew to an adult age before they could marry and bear children of their own.
This was known as a levirite marriage (from the Latin, levir, “brother-in-law”).
The Mosaic Law made provision that if a man died, one of his unmarried brothers was to marry the widow (his sister-in-law) in order to bear a son to maintain the name of the deceased brother.
The son would also acquire the deceased’s inheritance in the land of Israel.
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
As Naomi talked with Orpah and Ruth in verses 8–14, she saw the hand of the Lord in all that had happened to her.
She had left her homeland and settled in a foreign land where her husband and two sons died.
For Naomi, this was all at the hand of the Lord. She recognized the hand of the Lord in the entire calamity she had faced.
This was no complaint. It was simply an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the LORD Jehovah (or Yahweh), the personal covenant-keeping God of Israel.
At this point in the narrative we find that Orpah chose to go back to her people and to her gods, while Ruth “clung” to Naomi (v. 14).
The word “clung” is the same word translated “cleave” in Genesis 2:24, and it means to stick together like clay or to be glued together.
What do you find about Ruth’s decision in 1:16–18? What was her commitment?
How did she view the Lord in this decision?
WHEREVER YOU GO
“Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” Ruth 1:16–17
In one of the most beautiful statements in Scripture, Ruth reveals her heart. She made a clear-cut, well-thought-through choice.
She would cling to Naomi whatever came their way. She would follow her, stay with her, adapt to her ways and the ways of her people.
She would follow her God throughout her life until death. She so identified with Naomi that she never wanted to return to Moab, even wanting to be buried where Naomi was buried.
She did so in submission to God, the LORD (Jehovah), and called on Him as witness and guarantor of this vow.
Naomi knew that Ruth was indeed determined to stay with her.
From Moab, Naomi and Ruth traveled the sixty-plus miles back to Bethlehem where the women of the town met them.
Many of them remembered Naomi and were somewhat surprised at her appearance.
Perhaps the hardships of the years had taken their toll in her countenance.
Word Study
DETERMINED OR STEADFASTLY MINDED
The word translated determined (’amats) in Ruth 1:18 literally means “to be strong” and could be translated “she made her choice having strengthened herself.”
In other words, Ruth set her heart and will to go with Naomi and did so with all her might and determination.
Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest in April, in time to take part in the harvesting of grain.
One of the fields belonged to Boaz, a relative of Naomi through her husband Elimelech.
We meet him in chapter 2 as Ruth and Naomi settle in. Let’s trace the events of this new chapter in the lives of Ruth and Naomi.
According to Ruth 2:1–2, how did Ruth respond to the circumstances in which she and Naomi found themselves?
Ruth willingly offered to go and glean in the fields behind the reapers.
Her servant’s heart was evident.
The practice of gleaning is rooted in the Mosaic law which instructs the Israelites to allow the poor, the stranger (a non-Israelite), the fatherless, and the widow to pick the grain in the corners of the fields and to go behind the reapers, gleaning what is left from the harvest (Leviticus 19:9–10; 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19–22).
What do you find about Boaz in Ruth 2:1, 4?
Did You Know?
GRACE IN GLEANING
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
Boaz showed even more grace in his abundant provision for Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 2:8–19; 3:15–17).
Boaz was a relative of Elimelech and a man of great wealth. When he came to his field he greeted his reapers with “the LORD be with you,” while they replied with “the LORD bless you.” This shows something of the heart of Boaz. His first words are rooted in his relationship to the LORD, the God of Israel. In the time of the Judges, it is evident that he saw the Lord as King over his life. He had a good relationship with his workers who also recognized the Lord in their lives and in their work. It appears that Boaz knew that the harvest always comes by the providence and mercy of the Lord.
Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
Presents us with the testimony Ruth bore to the workers in the fields. When Boaz came to his field, he recognized the presence of a young woman he had not seen before. The servant in charge of the reapers had ample time to see her at work and spoke well of her. She was known as the Moabite woman who came back with Naomi. The servant took note of her as a diligent worker. She had worked hard since morning with only a short time of rest in the field tent.
How did Boaz treat Ruth according to Ruth 2:8–9?
Boaz urged her to stay in his field to reap with his young women, assuring her that she would be protected there. He had commanded the young men not to touch her. Furthermore, he made sure she knew water was available to drink whenever she might be thirsty. Here was protection and provision.
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
Shows us Ruth’s response of deep humility and gratitude. She acknowledged that as a foreigner she had no rights in the land, but was grateful for the gracious provision and protection of Boaz. In her conversation with Boaz, Ruth displayed that same servant-like attitude that she had earlier revealed toward her mother-in-law, Naomi.
What was the testimony Boaz had heard about Ruth according to 2:11–12?
What was the testimony of Ruth’s relationship with the Lord?
Boaz knew of the death of her husband, of her servant-like attitude toward Naomi, of her commitment to stay with Naomi and the people of God—though it was in a new land away from her father and mother and the land of her birth. He blessed her with a blessing from the Lord. He desired for her a reward for all her hard work. He was quick to add his wish for the Lord’s blessings upon her. Ruth’s surrender to the Lord was evident. Boaz compared her relationship with the Lord to that of a young bird seeking refuge under the wings of its mother (v. 12). Ruth had come to Israel to seek refuge, protection, and security in the Lord.
Did You Know?
UNDER THE LORD’S WINGS
The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
The imagery of a young bird under the wing of its mother is often used in the Psalms of one seeking refuge in the Lord (Psalm 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4).
It conveys a close relationship of protection, provision, and blessing. That is our relationship with the Lord.
Where are you seeking refuge?
In a bank account?
In a job or career?
In sports?
In your intellectual abilities?
In your talents?
In your social position?
In amassing material goods?
In popularity?
There are many false roads to take to find security and protection. The Lord is our refuge. He can cover us with His wings so that we are truly protected forever.
