Originally posted 8/20/24
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. 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.’
Ruth is one of the most beloved books of the Bible. It is the only book named after a female in the entire Bible. It is also a book that does not mention God’s name. Why does this book evoke strong feelings for us?
During the time of the judges, Emilech took his wife and two sons, Malon and Kilion, to Boaz due to a famine in Judah. It was common to wait until children were weaned to name them. I find it interesting what their names meant. Malon meant weak or sick. Kilion meant frail. Were these boys named to reflect their health? Emilech died leaving his wife, Naomi, and their two sons alone. Each of the sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. It is worth mentioning that Moabites were Gentiles which were hated by Jews. Genesis 19:7 tells us that Ruth is actually a descendant of Lot. They lived there for ten years and both of the sons died. After Ruth and Orpah’s husbands died, Naomi decided to return to Judah. Naomi encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their people. [Ruth 1:8, But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.” Ruth loved her mother-in-law and did not wish to leave her.
In one of the most quoted verses in weddings, Ruth 1:16-17 says “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. 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.” Ruth left with Naomi to return to Judah. Ruth would be going to a place she was unfamiliar with in order to stay with Naomi. Ruth and Naomi were on their own because the male relatives had died.
I have been blessed with wonderful in-laws. They have loved me from the very beginning as if I was their own child. I always tell people that I am their favorite child. I know many people have in-laws who are less than desirable. Clearly, Ruth was also blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law.
According to Len Woods in 31 Women of the Bible, “The unselfishness Ruth and Naomi showed in looking out for one other is admirable (see Ruth 1:7–14; 2:18). At crucial moments, each one’s greatest concern was not “What do I need or want?” but “What would be best for you?” Such a selfless attitude.” p. 56
When they had settled in Bethlehem, Ruth began to glean in Boaz’s fields. Ruth was unaware that he was actually a relative of Naomi’s. Boaz made sure that Ruth would be able to safely glean his fields. Gleaning is going behind the harvesters and picking up grain that was left behind. Boaz instructed his crew to intentionally leave more behind for Ruth.
Naomi instructed Ruth in actions that would secure a match between Boaz and Ruth. Naomi tells Ruth to sleep at the end of his bed. It seems like a
scandalous action for the time. Boaz became her kinsman redeemer. A kinsman redeemer is a male relative who would come to the aid of a relative who needed assistance.
We learn several lessons from Ruth. She is incredibly loyal. [Ruth 1:8, 16-17 ESV] 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. … 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.”
Ruth is obedient. Ruth 3:1-5 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 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. 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.” And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
Ruth demonstrates love. Ruth 2:10-11, 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.” Ruth 4:15, “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.”
Ruth was diligent. Ruth 2:3, “So she set out 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 clan of Elimelech.”
Boaz marries Ruth and they have a son, Obed. Obed is the grandfather of King David. Ruth is the most prominent women listed in the genealogy of Jesus.
“In the great story of God, the sparkling behavior of the Moabite Ruth is meant to contrast with the faithlessness of the Israelite people. Ruth is blessed because of her actions. In her new home of Israel she became the wife of Boaz, the great-grandmother of King David, and part of the lineage of Christ. On an interpersonal level, her life shows how it’s possible to build relational bridges instead of relational walls.” Woods, p. 56
Jesus is our redeemer. We were so in need of being rescued and redeemed in the way only Jesus could. Www.gotquestions.org states it like this, “In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ bought us for Himself, out of the curse, out of our destitution; made us His own beloved bride; and blessed us for all generations. He is the true kinsman-redeemer of all who call on Him in faith.”
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