Ruth 1:1-5
Naomi Widowed
1 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. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Today is a presentation of a brief introduction to the Book of Ruth. This book contains one of history’s most beloved love stories and it is now canonized as Scripture. In this book, we have the inspired word of God that presents the truth of doctrine for instruction, whereby, we will find the character of God. And with the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our lives can be truly transformed into the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1-2). This is my prayer as we study the Book of Ruth!
The Book of Ruth is a fascinating, refreshing, and hopeful Biblical narrative that tells the story of God’s lovingkindness (Hebrew word, “hesed“) to those who are considered not only outside the old covenant of faith but also to those within as well. the Book of Ruth and Ester are the only books in the Old Testament that are named after women, and even more importantly, the Book of Ruth is the only book named after a non-Jew. Ruth is from Moab. Historically, Moabites were descendent of Lot after the destruction of Sodom and Gomora. Even though their ancestry is related, the Moabite’s property was protected by God for the sake of Lot their forefather when Israel was coming into Caanan after sojourning for forty years in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 2:9). Nevertheless, they were also cursed by God. According to the Law of Moses, a Moabite cannot enter the sanctuary of the Lord even to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3). With this backdrop, it is discerning how the Israelites could forsake the Yahweh, their LORD, and worship Chemosh, the god of Moab. In 1 Kings 11:7-8. King Solomon rejected God and built a shrine to worship this idolatrous god of Moab. Readers of the Book of Ruth who come with a preconceived notion about Ruth, the Moabitess, are quickly shattered by her acts of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control: these, which are the fruit of the Spirit as said by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23.
It is also interesting to note that the Book of Ruth, a short story of God’s lovingkindness and hope to those who are virtuous and who walk by faith with God, follow the Book of Judges which is dark and seemingly hopeless. The Book of Judges was a time before there was a king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6, 21:25). John MacArthur said, “The Book of Judges describes one of the longest, bleakest epochs in Old Testament history … That entire era is riddled with horrific acts of evil, bloody conflicts, and tales of human misery. It was an age of absolute moral chaos.” The Bible testifies about the futility of the way of a fool: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes” (Proverbs 12:15), “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12), and, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool” (Proverbs 28:26).
But, then comes the Book of Ruth, a story of God’s lovingkindness and hope. The Septuagint (Greek version of the Hebrew Bible which was possibly written just three centuries before Christ), placed the Book of Ruth in conjunction with and after the Book of Judges, which the Latin Vulgate and our English translations do as well. This is interesting because it illustrates the brightness of God’s acts of lovingkindness to those who walk virtuously by faith against the darkness of despair that existed during the Book of Judges when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Daniel I. Block in his commentary said that some scholars have historically placed the Book of Ruth immediately following King Lemuel’s words about the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. Ruth, a non-Jew woman who was the great-grandmother of King David, epitomizes the very nature of what a virtuous woman should be.
In application, we who are Gentiles, have access to God by the blood atonement of Jesus Christ. We who are outside the covenant and were by nature, hostile and enemies of God, can now be united by faith into one body, the body of Christ, which is the church. The story of walking virtuously by faith goes back to the garden of Eden. That was paradise. But due to the sinfulness of man, all hopes of communion with God were lost. Except for the promise of a redeemer, who would purchase us and give us eternal life through Jesus Christ, our kinsman redeemer, we would have no hope, just like Ruth. The story of Ruth also provides the lineage of Christ and gives us a story of what redemption looks like in the life of a believer. All praise to God, the Lord of Host, who gave His one and only Son. He changed His robe of righteousness with my robe of sin. And now, we can be justified before God. This is the story of Ruth!
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Our God of Lovingkindness and Mercy, I praise and thank You for being my Lord, God, and Redeeming Savior. I pray that you open my heart to understand the truth of Your nature and help me to be more loving and merciful to others, especially to those in the family of faith. I confess I need You to help me to be Christlike is all ways. May everything I do and say, give You all glory and praise. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Soft as a Voice of an Angel by Septimus Winner in 1868
