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RUTH – UNDER THE WINGS OF GOD
There was a great famine in Israel during the time when judges ruled. A man named Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, lived in the city of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. They had two sons named Mahlon and Kilion. There were no rains for a long time and the crops failed, soon food became scarce. Elimelech and Naomi decided to move to another country, and they went to Moab. After some years Elimelech passed away and Naomi continued to live with her two sons Mahlon and Kilion in Moab. Mahlon and Kilion married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth.
They lived there for almost ten years, when both the sons also died leaving Naomi with her two Moabite daughters-in-law. The Moabite culture was different and they worshipped differently from how Naomi and her family did. The Moabites were descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot. They were gentiles who were not part of the 12 tribes of Israel. They did not continue to worship Jehovah and they worshipped the god Chemosh. Even though Naomi and her family had travelled to Moab from Bethlehem because of the famine, they continued to worship Jehovah even in Moab. The Israelites had particular ways of worshipping God including taking rest on the Sabbath and observing it holy as taught by the Law of Moses.
One day Naomi heard that the famine in Judah was over, so she decided to go back to Bethlehem. Naomi’s daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth also started on the journey with her. Naomi loved and cared for Orpah and Ruth, but she knew that it would be difficult for them in a foreign land. She prayed for the Lord to deal kindly with Orpah and Ruth, then she requested both of them to go back to their families where they could be taken care of by their relatives or they could even start their own new families. When they heard it, they were sad to part each other and they wept together. Orpah decided to go back to her family as requested by Naomi and kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth was determined to go with her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem.
Ruth firmly told Naomi not to talk about going back to her relatives anymore. She even said, “Wherever you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.” Naomi knew that Ruth’s mind was made up. So, they went on together to Bethlehem. Ruth would be a stranger and foreigner in Bethlehem. Yet Ruth chose to leave her own country, Moab, she was familiar with, to stay with and support her mother-in-law, Naomi, in a foreign land. Ruth not only chose Naomi, but she also chose to worship the God Naomi worshipped. Naomi would have led a pure and exemplary spiritual life for her daughter-in-law to follow her ways.
It was harvest time when they got to Bethlehem. Naomi’s old neighbours and friends came to know that she had returned. They were happy for her. But Naomi was not excited. She had led a hard life in a foreign land and she had lost her husband and both her sons. Naomi thought her life had become bitter. She told everyone not to call her Naomi but to call her “Mara” which meant bitter. Even though Naomi and her family had faithfully worshipped Jehovah in Moab, many misfortunes had fallen on them. But her bitterness and sadness did not last, because God had a great plan for her life.
Upon returning to Bethlehem, Ruth
decided to go into the fields to pick up leftover grains, since it was barley
harvest season. Barley is a grain that is commonly used to make bread.
During the harvest season, the Israelite farmers would not gather all the grains. God had commanded them to leave some grains behind, so that they could be gathered by poor and destitute people (Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-21). The field that Ruth went to glean incidentally belonged to a man named Boaz who was a relative of her father-in-law Elimelech.
When Boaz saw the young girl gleaning in his fields, he enquired of her and found that, it was Ruth who had returned from Moab with her mother-in-law Naomi. Boaz went to Ruth and told her she could work safely in his fields and get a drink from his water jars when she was thirsty. Boaz told his reapers not to harm her and asked them to leave extra grains in the field for her to gather. Ruth was surprised at his kindness, since she was a Moabite woman and a stranger. Boaz told her that he had heard of Ruth's kindness toward Naomi after her husband died. Boaz also blessed her saying that she would be repaid for her kindness and also richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings she had come to take refuge.
Ruth worked very hard in the
fields to provide enough barley for her and Naomi. When Ruth returned from the
fields, Naomi could tell that someone had been really kind to Ruth. When Ruth
told Naomi that it was Boaz’s field, Naomi was happy, since Boaz was a close
relative of her husband. So, she told Ruth to continue gleaning from that field
in the coming days also. Naomi wanted Ruth to have a family of her own.
According to the law of Moses, if a man died without having a son, then his
brother or any other close relative was supposed to marry the widow
(Deuteronomy 25:5-10). He would be called a “Kinsman Redeemer.” The firstborn
son would be the heir of the man who died. The land would stay in the family,
and the widow would be cared for. Boaz was a close relative and one
of the kinsmen redeemers. Naomi hoped that Boaz would agree to marry Ruth, like
the law said to. There
was another close kinsman redeemer, but he refused. So, Boaz agreed to marry
Ruth.
Thus, Ruth, a gentile woman from Moab was given
the privilege of being an ancestor of Jesus Christ and to be a part of God’s
eternal plan. Like Boaz told her, Ruth was richly rewarded by the God of
Israel, under whose wings she had come to take refuge. Ruth’s life
gave a glimpse of God’s incomprehensible grace for the undeserving in the Old
Testament; this grace was fully revealed to us through Jesus Christ in the New
Testament.
Bible Reference: The Book
of Ruth
Memory Verse: Ruth 2:12
ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITIES
Fill in the blanks:
1. Elimelech
and Naomi were from ……………………. in the land of Judah.
2. The
Moabites were descendants of Abraham’s nephew ………….
3. The
field that Ruth went to glean belonged to a man named …………….
4. Boaz married Ruth and had a son named ……………..
Give short answers:
1. Who are the Moabites?
2. What did Ruth tell
Naomi when she asked her to go back?
3. Why did Naomi tell
everyone to call her Mara?
4. What did Boaz tell Ruth, when he found her gleaning in the field?
Answer
in brief:
1. What
happened to Ruth after she came to Bethlehem?
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