Against the dark backdrop of the time
of the judges in Israel—filled with apostasy and judgment—the story of Ruth is
a cameo of love and redemption. A young
widow who leaves her native Moab to help her mother-in-law, Ruth gleans in the fields
belonging to a relative, Boaz, who grows to love this faithful woman. The two marry and become the great
grandparents of King David, ancestor of Jesus Christ. By marrying the widow and redeeming the
family’s property, Boaz is a picture of Christ as the “kinsman-redeemer.”
In the first two chapters of Ruth,
the main characters are Ruth and Naomi…a vivid picture of Ruth’s Decision and
Ruth’s Devotion. The last two chapters
are a picture of Ruth and Boaz…Ruth’s Deliverer and Ruth’s Delight!...summarized
as Ruth’s love demonstrated and Ruth’s love rewarded.
From the beginning to the end of the
book covers about 30 years.
Naomi was a great mother in law, but
was she a bitter woman? The story of
Ruth is a story of romance and redemption set in difficult times. Ruth provides a ray of hope and
happiness. Historically the book
describes the experiences of a Godly family of Bethlehem during the period of
the judges. Symbolically, it portrays a
redeemer (Boaz) coming for his bride (Ruth, a beautiful picture of Christ
coming for His bride, the church.
Theologically, it reveals the character of God in His gracious dealings
with men. Genealogically, it explains
how a non-Israelite (Ruth the Moabitess) could become a member of the royal
lineage of Christ the Messiah.
This family from Bethlehem seemed to
have “gone through it all”. A famine
hit, the family was forced to leave their homeland, the father died, the 2 sons
married and then they died, leaving behind a mother and 2 widowed daughter in
law.
But behind it all, God was at work –
using the joys and tragedies of that family to put the right people in the
right place at the right time. So that
one cold, crisp morning during the barley harvest in Israel, a faithful alien
named Ruth would “chance” to glean in the field of a faithful kinsman named
Boaz. And eventually they would parent a
son, Obed, who would have a grandson, David, through whom would be born the
Messiah.
Are you facing a personal or family
crisis today? You can do one of 2 things
with it: entrust it to God who leaves
nothing to chance, or worry about it…follow Ruth’s example, which will it
be?
As we have been walking through the
Judges we readily see that they are presiding over a nation that is
degenerating into a pitiful pit of sinful selfishness. And yet the story of Ruth stands out as a
beacon of hope and love – reminding us that no matter what our circumstances
may be, God remains faithful to His children.
At the same time, He desires His children to be faithful to Him by obeying
His Word.
We know that this story of Ruth is
where we place it because of the first verse:
“In the days when the judges ruled,… or was it in the time of David’s
reign? Good homework!
There are 2 books in Scripture which
bear the names of women…Ruth and Esther.
Ruth is a young Gentile who is brought to live among Hebrews and marries
a Hebrew husband in the line of royal David.
Esther is a young Hebrew woman who is brought to live among Gentiles and
marries a Gentile husband on the throne of a great empire. Both were great and good women.
Ruth alone is the only instance in
the Bible in which a whole book is devoted to a woman. A love story:
the story of a young wife’s passionate and devoted love for her mother-in
law!” Ruth is the heroine. Far from
asserting the exclusive privilege of the chosen people, the book rather invites
other races to come and put their trust under the wings of Jehovah by showing
that as soon as they trust in Him the privilege and blessings of Israel become
theirs.
Deut. 23:3 states the divine law that
meant permanent exclusion. Law excludes
us from God’s family, but GRACE includes us if we put our faith in Christ.
Ruth is one of the four mentioned in
the Messianic line – Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba. The three with questionable credentials and
Ruth an outcast. How did they become a
part of the family of the Messiah?
Through the sovereign grace and mercy of the Lord. God is “long-suffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to repentance II Peter 3:9.
Naomi HEARD of the end of the famine
and decided to return home. How sad it
is when people only HEAR about God’s blessing, but never experience it, because
they are not in the place where God can bless them. Whenever we have disobeyed the Lord and
departed from His will, we must confess our sin and return to the place of
blessing. Naomi’s decision was right,
but her motive was wrong. She was still
interested primarily in food, not in fellowship with God. There is no record of her confessing her sins
to God and asking Him to forgive her…she was returning to her land, but not to
her Lord.
We can’t control the circumstances of
life, but we can control how we respond to them. That is what faith is all about, daring to
believe that God is working everything for our good even when we don’t feel
like it or see it happening.
1:15-18 Ruth had come to trust the
God of Israel 2:12. She had *experienced
trials and disappointments, but instead of blaming God, she had trusted Him and
was not ashamed to confess her faith. In
spite of the bad example of her disobedient in-laws, Ruth had come to know the
true and living God and she wanted to be with His people and dwell in His land.
Ruth’s conversion is evidence of the
sovereign grace of God for the only way sinners can be saved is by grace. Eph. 2:8-10.
She had obstacles: *Her
background…worship of the god Chemosh, human sacrifices, immorality. *Her circumstances were against her…widowed,
no support.
Ruth dearly loved her mother-in-law,
but even Naomi was against her…urging her to return to her family and her gods
in Moab. But God intervened and
graciously saved her: Titus 3:5; Micah 7:18; I Tim.2:4.
Ruth’s statement in 1:16-17 is one of
the most magnificent confessions found anywhere in Scripture…confessed love for
Naomi and HER FATH IN the true and living God and to worship Him alone.
1:19-22 Naomi had been away from home
for 10 yrs and the women of the town were shocked when they saw her. Surprise and bewilderment…Naomi means pleasant
but she was not living up to her name…she was different than the one who had
left. The trials of her life had made
her bitter. She was a woman with empty
hands, an empty home and an empty heart.
Is v. 21 her confess of sin. It
seems that Naomi knew the names of the Lord but did ot exercise the faith.
Naomi had LIFE…she thought that life
had ended for her, but her trials were really a new beginning. Naomi had opportunity…friends…things
gradually changed…she looked out the open window to the light beyond the
darkness. Naomi had Ruth…her richest
resource. It is Ruth whom God used and
blessed throughout the rest of the book.
Ruth was a woman who trusted God and was totally committed to Him. Naomi had Jehovah, the God of Israel.
Are you trusting God for YOUR new
beginning? With the LORD, your resources
are far greater than your burdens…just as was Naomi’s situation!
Chapter 2: Naomi was bitter against God, but Ruth was
willing for God to have His way in her life; so God began His gracious work
with Ruth. She became the influencer
rather than Naomi. Since Ruth believed
that God loved her and would provide for her, she set out to find a field in
which she could glean…an act of faith.
Ruth set out to glean in the field
but actually she was looking for someone who would show her grace. The channel of that grace was Boaz. Could he have loved Ruth right away? She became his focus of interest.
Boaz took the initiative 2:8 He spoke to Ruth He promised to protect Ruth and provide for
her needs 2:9, 14-16 “My daughter” – she was younger and it is also a term of
endearment. (He personally ate with her
and handed her the food v.14) Boaz
encouraged Ruth. He saw to it that she
was satisfied. Ruth lived in hope v.
17-23
Now we have a changed Naomi…”Blessed
v. 19-20. Moved from bitterness to
blessedness. Naomi had hope because of
who Boaz was, because of what he did and what he said.
The exciting new hope that now posseses
the 2 widows was centered in a person, Boaz, just as our hope is centered in
the Son of God. Is might be helpful to consider
the great contrast between Boaz and Samson. Samson…caught in the headlights of lust! Boaz caught by the beauty of the servant, submissive
heart of Ruth!!! He immediately became her
provider, protector….
Naomi explained to Ruth the law of
the kinsman Redeemer – she had hope in the principle of redemption that God had
written in His Word. The kinsman commitment:
1. Redeem his brother and his
inheritance…slavery or disposing of land involvement. 2. Avenger of any fatal violence against his
brother. 3. Raise up a successor to his brother, if his
brother died without leaving a son.
The purpose behind all this was the saving of Israelitish families from
extinction. Must be next of kin or near
kinsman. Boaz knew there was one nearer
kin than he was. There was a
considerable difference in age.
Spread thy skirt over thine handmaid
was an appeal of widowed Ruth for protection, as the casting of the outward
garment over the bride’s head was a customary ceremony at in old time eastern
marriages.
The best antidote for bitterness is I
Thess 5:18 … it isn’t always easy to obey It is encouraging to see the change
that has taken place in Naomi because of what Ruth did. God used Ruth to turn her bitterness into
gratitude, her unbelief into faith and her despair into hope.
Ruth’s faith led her to the field of
Boaz; the love of Boaz for Ruth compelled him to pour out his grace upon her
and meet her every need. Ruth’s
experience of grace gave her new hope as she anticipated what her kinsman
redeemer would do.
NEXT WEEK: Emphasis on the relationship of a mother in law
and daughter in law!
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