TRAGEDY
A. 1 In the days when the judges ruled in
Israel,
The opening verse of the book reminds
us of the leadership vacuum in Israel during the Judges Period.
The closing verse reveals God's provision of the greatest
leader that Israel had since that time.
Therefore the book seems concerned with showing how God
provided for His people, especially for their leadership need.
B. a severe famine came upon the land.
God had promised the Israelites that if they departed
from Him He
would discipline them by sending famine on the Promised
Land (Deut. 28:17, 23, 38-40, 42).
The famine on Israel at this time indicates God's
judgment for unfaithfulness.
C. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his
home and went to live in the country of Moab,
taking his wife and two sons with him.
"The story is never delightful when a member of the
chosen seed leaves the Land of Promise and goes into the far country. It makes
no difference whether he is Abraham going into Egypt to escape the famine or
the
prodigal son going to the far country and into the face
of a famine there; the results are negative and the ending tragic. Elimelech
should not have gone into the land of Moab, regardless of the conditions in the
Land of Promise."
Famines, according to the biblical record, usually
advanced God's plans for His people,
despite their tragic appearances (cf. Gen. 12:10; 26:1;
41—50; Exod. 1—20).
2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his
wife was Naomi.
Elimelech's (lit. my God is king, a theme of the book) parents probably gave him this name hoping
that he would acknowledge God as his king, but he failed to do that when he
moved from Israel to Moab.
D. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.
Mahlon may have looked sickly when he was born, and
Chilion probably looked as though he was failing.
They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in
the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.
A story in the Book of Judges of the concubine from
Bethlehem who became the focus of discord in Israel that resulted in civil war and
almost the obliteration of the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 19—21).
We can see that
the Israelites would have looked down on Bethlehem after this incidents.
However, Ruth reveals how God brought great blessing to
Israel out of Bethlehem in the person of David.
This is in harmony with God's choice to bring blessing
out of those things that people do not value highly naturally.
Bethlehem in
Ruth's day did not have a good reputation. It was not the environment in which
David grew up that made him great but his relationship with God- a heritage
passed down to him from his ancestors, godly Boaz and
Ruth.
E. 3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left
with her two sons.
Elimelech's death may have been a punishment for leaving
the land rather than trusting God (cf. Lev. 26:38),
4
The two sons married Moabite women.
One married a woman named Orpah, and
the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later,
It was not contrary to the Mosaic law for Israelite men
to marry Moabite women (Deut. 7:3), but apparently they could not bring them
into the congregation of Israel for public worship (Deut. 23:3-4).
F 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left
Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Can’t get any darker than this?
What’s yours & mine?
Son’s business has not taken off, withdrawal of financial support,
Yours: Unemployment, health, marriage, children,
finances…relationship
TRUST
A. 6 Then Naomi
heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good
crops again.
So
Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her
homeland.
7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out
from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that
would lead them back to Judah.
God eventually withdrew the famine from Judah (v. 6),
probably in response to His people's calling out to Him for deliverance (cf.
Judg. 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6: 6; 10:10; 16:28). This verse sounds one of the major
themes of the story: Yahweh's
gracious intervention.
"Here is a central theme in the Bible: all of life
is traced directly to the hand of God.
To concentrate primarily on second causes may encourage
us to seek to be manipulators of the system.
It is concentration on the Great Cause which teaches us
to live by faith."
B. Naomi’s Struggling Faith
8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two
daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord
reward you for your kindness to your
husbands and to me.
Naomi's words to her daughters-in-law are very important.
She appealed to them to maintain their strongest earthly
ties by returning to their mothers' families (v. 8).
Naomi incorrectly believed that there was more hope for
her daughters-in-law by staying in Moab than there was
by going with her to God's chosen people and land.
9 May the Lord bless you with the security
of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke
down and wept.
Another
word for security is rest. Naomi wished "rest" (Heb. ) for her
daughters-in-law in the household of their
next husbands.
Rest was one of
the great blessings God had promised the
Israelites as they anticipated entrance into the Promised
Land .
10 “No,” they said. “We want to go with
you to your people.”
11
But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me?
Can I still give birth to other sons
who could grow up to beyour husbands?
After the two daughters-in-law refused to leave their
mother-in-law (v. 10), which in
Orpah's case was only a polite refusal but in Ruth's a
genuine one, Naomi urged them again.
Here one reason for her counsel comes out. She was too
old to remarry, bear sons,
have those sons marry their brothers' (Mahlon's and
Chilion's) widows, and raise up seed.
That seed would perpetuate the families begun by Mahlon
and Chilion with Ruth and Orpah.
Levirate marriage
was the practice of a single brother marrying his deceased brother's widow to
father children who would carry on the dead brother's name and extend his
branch of the family tree. It was common throughout the ancient Near East and
in Israel (cf. Gen.38:8-10; Deut. 25:5-10).
12 No, my daughters, return to your
parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again.
And even if it were possible, and I
were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what?
Naomi was too old to remarry and bear sons who could
provide loyal love and rest for Ruth and Orpah.
Consequently she urged her daughters-in-law to return
home and start married
life over with new Moabite husbands.
She evidently did not even consider the possibility
that God could provide for them if they sought refuge in Him.
She was not presenting the God of Israel in a positive
light or demonstrating much faith in Him.
13 Would you wait for them to grow up and
refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters!
Things are far more bitter for me
than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”
It was harder for Naomi than for Ruth and Orpah (v. 13),
because while Ruth and Orpah
had hope of marrying again and bearing children, Naomi
did not, in view of her advanced age.
She bitterly regarded her situation as a judgment from
God (v. 13; cf. Gen. 30:1-2; 42:36).
14 And again they wept together, and
Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye.
C.Ruth’s Strong
Faith
14b…
But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi.
The Hebrew word for "clung to" refers to the
ideal closeness that can be experienced in a marriage relationship (cf. Gen.
2:24).
15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your
sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods.
You should do the same.”
The ancients believed that a deity had power only in the
locale occupied by its worshippers.
Therefore to leave one's land (v. 15) meant to separate
from one's god.
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave
you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go;
wherever you live, I will live. Your
people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Naomi's life or family may have influenced Ruth to trust
in Naomi's God.
Ruth invoked the personal, covenantal name Yahweh—the
only time in the book in which she does so. Since one appeals to one's own
deity to enforce an oath, she clearly implies that Yahweh, not Chemosh, is now
her God, the guardian of her future.
Hence, while the OT has no fully developed idea of
conversion, vv. 16-17 suggest
a commitment tantamount to such a change.
As a result, one expects the story subsequently to reveal
some reward from Yahweh for this remarkable devotion. . . .
". . . Ruth's leap of faith even outdid Abraham's.
She acted with no promise in hand, with no divine blessing pronounced, without
spouse or possessions. She gave up another possible marriage to a man to devote
herself to an old woman!
17 Wherever you die, I will die, and
there I will be buried.
May the Lord punish me severely if I
allow anything but death to separate us!”
The place of a person's grave in ancient Near Eastern
life was very significant (cf. Gen. 23; 25:9-10; 50:1-14, 24-25;
Josh. 24:32). It identified the area he or she considered
his or her true home. So when Ruth said she wanted to die and be buried where
Naomi was, she was voicing her strong commitment to the people, land, and God
of Naomi
18
When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.
Ruth concluded that her prospects for loyal love (8) and
rest (vv. 8-9) were better if she
identified with Israel than if she continued to identify
with Moab.
She had come to admire Israel's God, in spite of Naomi's
present lack of faith.
Elimelech and his family had evidently earlier fulfilled
God's purpose for His people while living in Moab.
They had so represented Yahweh that Ruth felt drawn to
Him and now, faced with a decision of loyalty, she chose to trust and obey Him
rather than the gods of Moab.
God had always welcomed non-Israelites into the covenant
community of Abraham's believing seed.
At Sinai, God explained again that the Israelites, as
priests, were to bring other people to God (Exod. 19:5-6).
Ruth now confessed her commitment to Yahweh, Israel, and
Naomi, a commitment based on her faith in Yahweh.
19 So the two of them continued on their
journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by
their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the
women asked.
D. Naomi’s Bitterness
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded.
“Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.
If someone expects the worst, he or she may not be
expecting God to be faithful to His promises to bless.
Negative thinking does not honor God. It betrays lack of
faith. This is something many Christians need to work on.
Many people have grown up in negative environments, and
they need to learn to view life through the lens of
faith in God's promises.
"In Israel, names were not just labels of
individuality but descriptions of inner character which in turn were presumed
to influence the person's conduct. . . . Recall Jacob ('schemer'; Gen. 27:36);
Nabal ('fool'; 1 Sam. 25:25); Jesus ('savior'; Matt. 1:21).
Similarly, to receive a new name signified a change in
character and destiny (i.e., Abram to Abraham, Gen.
17:5-8; Jacob to Israel, Gen. 32:29 [Eng. 28]; Simon to
Peter, Matt. 16:17-18; Saul to Paul, Acts 19 [
August:
imposing, impressive, grand, majestic, dignified, noble, eminent, humble, inspiring
awe
"Naomi" means "my pleasantness." Her
parents must have given her this character trait name hoping that she would
become a pleasant person in God's sight.
"Mara" means "bitterness." Naomi
regarded herself no longer as pleasant but bitter as a result of what had
happened to her.
21 I went away full, but the Lord has
brought me home empty.
Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused
me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”. Naomi failed
to see that Yahweh had not brought her back home empty .
Ruth, who had pledged herself to care for Naomi as long
as she lived, had returned with her (v. 22).
This was a tremendous blessing from the Lord. At this
time Naomi considered Ruth insignificant, but the women of Bethlehem later
corrected her faulty view of Ruth's worth (4:15).
Frederic Bush viewed Naomi's faith differently.
"Naomi here does not evidence little faith; rather,
with the freedom of a faith, she resolutely and
openly voices her complaint. With this robust example of
the honesty and forthrightness of
complaint,' our author depicts in somber and expressive
hues the desolation, despair, and
emptiness of the
life of a woman 'left alone without her two boys and
without her husband' (v 5) in a world where life depends upon men."
Warren Wiersbe saw three common mistakes that people make
in this chapter: trying to
run from our problems (vv. 1-5),
trying to hide our mistakes (vv. 6-18),
and blaming God for our trials (vv. 19-22).
TRIUMPH
A. 22 So Naomi
returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite
woman. Throughout the book the
writer frequently referred to Ruth as "Ruth the Moabitess"(1:22; 2:2,
6, 21; 4:5, 10). This is one way in which he drew attention to the fact that
God used even a non-Israelite, from an enemy nation, to bring blessing to
Israel. The key to her being this source of blessing emerges in the first
chapter. It was her faith in Yahweh
and her commitment to His people. Throughout human
history this has always been the key to God using people as His channels of
blessing.
It is not their
origins or backgrounds but their faith in and commitment to Yahweh and others
that make them usable.
B.They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring,
at the beginning of the barley harvest.
This summary sentence not only concludes chapter 1 but
also prepares the reader for the remaining scenes of the story.
1She had left with Elimelech, one source of blessing in
her life, but
returned with Ruth, who would become another source of
blessing for her.
2 She had left during a famine, but she returned to
Bethlehem (lit. house of bread, the place of blessing)
at the beginning of harvest.
Likewise the whole book opens with a bad situation but
ends with a good one.
God was at work blessing His people .
MESSAGE Summary:
“God cares for needy people like Naomi and Ruth; he is
their ally in this chaotic world.
God richly rewards those who sacrificially love others
and in so doing become his instruments in
helping the needy & sometimes exceed their wildest
imagination and transcend their lifetime."
Finally, what are the major lessons we should learn from the Book of Ruth?
1st circumstances do not make or break a believer.
Faith does.
Boaz was a wealthy
man who lived in a spiritually apostate, morally corrupt environment.
Nevertheless he overcame his temptations by faith in God.
Ruth was a poor Moabite woman and extremely vulnerable.
Yet she overcame her temptations by faith, too.
From this we learn that circumstances are not
determinative. They do not control our spirituality.
Our attitude and relationship to God do. That is why it
is so important that we maintain a daily intimate relationship with Him. No
matter what circumstances we are up against, we can
be overcomers like Boaz and Ruth by trus ting in,
committing ourselves to God, and
following Him faithfully.
Second, God blesses people who trust Him and commit
themselves to Him.
Ruth and Boaz were not only a blessing to others, but God
personally blessed them.
They received rest from God. God's blessing of Ruth came
in the form of food, a family, and security.
A loving and loyal wife of sterling character and a son
to carry on the name of his family blessed Boaz's life.
While God has not promised Christians the same kinds of
blessings that He promised the Israelites, He has promised to
bless us. Our blessings are presently mainly spiritual
(forgiveness, peace, joy, etc.), but we will receive both spiritual and
physical blessings at the judgment seat of Christ, if not before. God will
reward our faith as He rewarded the faith of Boaz and Ruth.
God had purposed to provide rest (security) for His
people. At Mt. Sinai, God promised
to lead His people out of the wilderness and into rest
(Exod. 33:14). Moses reminded the
generation of Israelites who crossed the Jordan River and
entered the Promised Land that,
when they had defeated the Canaanites, God would give
them rest (Deut. 3:19-20; 12:8- 11; 25:19).
Unfortunately in the period of the judges, because of the
Israelites' departure from God, they were not always at rest. Only when God
raised up a judge and delivered their enemies into their hands did the
Israelites enjoy rest.
Often they lacked food, they were in danger, and their
family lives underwent disruption (Judg. 3:11, 30; 5:31; et al.).
That is the situation we discover in the Book of Ruth.
Naomi and Ruth lacked food, they were vulnerable and in danger, and their families
had broken up.
It should be no
surprise, then, when we read that Naomi desired rest for her daughters- in-law
(1:9).
Boaz was the source of rest for Ruth. As Ruth trusted in
and committed herself to Yahweh, God provided rest for her through Boaz.
Ruth was the source of rest for Naomi, and for all Israel
ultimately.
She became God's instrument of blessing for her
mother-in-law by providing food, security, and descendants.
Moreover, she became God's instrument of blessing for all
Israel, and even the world, by providing Obed, from whom came David.
Rest is God's
reward for those who follow Him faithfully.
3rd God uses people who trust Him, and commit
themselves to Him, to be a blessing to others.
Ruth reveals
God's providence in providing a Ruler for His people.
God had purposed to provide a ruler over His people.
The first indication of this in Scripture is what God
said to Abraham about His plans for his descendants.
God's plan was to use Abraham's descendants to bring
blessing to all humankind (Gen. 12:1-3).
In the process, Abraham's descendants would enjoy God's
blessing themselves.
This is usually what happens. When we provide blessing
for others, we normally receive blessing in return.
One of the major revelations of Ruth is the crucial
characteristic in particular individuals whom God uses to bring His will to
pass. It is not their natural condition but their faith in Him.
Even though Ruth was a Moabitess, a childless widow,
and poor, God used her to accomplish His purpose.
His purpose was to provide a ruler over His people. He
used her because she trusted in and committed herself to Yahweh
(1:16-17). Her faith, in spite of her natural condition, made her usable
by God. Faith always trumps nature as a
prerequisite for usefulness by God.
- Ruth is God's
grace in providing redemption for His people.
He provided Boaz to redeem Ruth and Naomi. Through Ruth
He provided David to set Israel free.
And through David He provided Jesus Christ to set the
world free.
Resource: Taken from Dr.Thomas Constable & others
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