“RUTH: GRACIOUS CARING.”
Ruth 1: 15-17; 2: 2-7, 10-12; 4: 13-17.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO RUTH 1.
To help us rekindle our devotion to Christ, in the month of May we are going to look at the examples of four women. Each woman will show us a different side of godly devotion, and by exploring these characteristics we can be motivated to grow stronger in our love for God and others. Ruth will teach us about exhibiting devotion through caring for others. Hannah will teach us the value of being determined in our devotion. Lydia will teach us the joy of being willing servants. And Mary of Bethany will teach us to keep our focus on Christ alone.
Ruth and Esther are the only two books in the Bible named after women.
No one knows for sure who wrote the Book of Ruth. Jewish tradition has attributed the book to Samuel near the time when David was anointed king of Israel. One of the reasons Samuel might have written he Book of Ruth could have been to justify David’s claim to the throne through Ruth and Boaz, his great-grand parents.
The action in the book took place during the period of the Book of Judges. Those were the dark ages of Israel’s history. The victories of Joshua had been followed by periods of spiritual declension with but brief periods of revival. As the time of the Judges wore on, the apostasy deepened till the Book ended in corruption and bloody civil strife.
The period of Judges was marked by weak faith and irresponsible conduct. Even Gideon, who exhibited great faith against overwhelming odds during the destruction of the invading Midianites, Amalekites, and eastern desert tribes, later failed to seek God’s advice in the everyday affairs of his judgeship. Gideon had many wives and concubines, who bore him 70 sons.
After Gideon’s death Abimelech, a son by his concubine in Schechem, in Judges 9, killed all the other sons except one and established himself as a godless and bloody king.
Since Ruth was the great-grandmother of David, who began his rule at Hebron in 1010 B.C. the experiences in the Book of Ruth occurred in the last half of the 12th century. This means that Ruth may have been a contemporary of Gideon.
The degree of permissiveness in Israel was a theme repeated often in the Book of Judges and restated in Judges 21:25: “In those days Israel had no king: everyone did as he saw fit.”
By contrast the Book of Ruth provides a view of people who acted responsibly, rather than permissively, and with faith in God’s sovereign, superintending control.
Ruth also stood in stark relief against the dark background of her own Moabite origin. In Gen. 19:30-38 Moses detailed the somber story of the nation of Moab’s origin. Lot’s two daughters despaired of any future after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In faithless irresponsibility they got their father drunk enough that he would have sex with them in the cave where they were living. The fruits of their incest were Moab and Ben-Ammi. These sons became the founders of the Moabites and he Ammonites, respectively; nations that warred against Israel. Ruth the Moabite’s broke the tradition of her idolatrous people and her irresponsible ancestor.
Ruth made an unconditional commitment to care for her widowed and now childless mother-in law Naomi. Ruth took the initiative by gleaning in the fields in order to feed Naomi and herself. Boaz commended Ruth for the sacrifices she had made to care for Naomi. Boaz married Ruth and they had a son who continued the line of Naomi’s dead husband. Now let’s see what this lesson teaches us about caring for others.
PLEASE READ RUTH 1: 15-17.
The story of Ruth took place “when the judges ruled”: “during the time of the judges.” This was a period of violence and bloodshed. Yet nothing is said about these events in the Book of Ruth.
Rather, the Book of Ruth focuses on the events in the life of one family.
Naomi and her husband Elimelech along with their two sons left Bethlehem and moved to the land of Moab. They moved to his foreign land because of a famine in their own land.
Tragedy fell on the family in Moab. Elimelech died. The two sons married Moabite women. And within a decade both sons died. Suddenly all the men in Naomi’s life were gone. Therefore, when she heard that the famine in Bethlehem had ended, she made plans to return.
Naomi told her two daughters-in-law to return to their families. She prayed that the Lord would deal kindly with them. More specifically she asked Him to guide each to find a husband.
When they protested, she reminded them that she was too old to have sons whom they could marry. If they returned to their families, they were young enough to marry again. One of the women, Orpah, bid Naomi a tearful farewell and went to her family. The other daughter-in-law, Ruth, refused to leave.
Naomi urged Ruth to leave as her sister-in-law had done. Orpah had gone back unto her people, and unto her gods. Although the Moabites had a connection with the Israelites in the distant past because Moab was the son of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, the Moabites did not worship the God of Abraham. They had their own gods. We do not know how much the two women had learned about the true God from marrying into a Hebrew family. Judging from vs. 8-9, Naomi spoke openly of her faith in the Lord. This was no doubt part of the reason that Ruth made her commitment of vs. 16-17. Indeed Ruth’s words in Ruth 1: 16-17 are the most familiar words in the Book of Ruth, often being quoted in marriage vows.
Ruth responded by pleading with Naomi not to try to persuade her to leave Naomi or to turn back from following her. Ruth committed herself to going wherever Naomi went and to living wherever she lived. She would go to whatever land Naomi went. She would lodge in whatever dwelling Naomi lodged.
Ruth knew her mother-in-law was headed home, but that was a foreign land to her. This meant leaving her homeland and moving to Israel. Yet Ruth said, “Thy people shall be my people.” Ruth committed herself to live and to die in a strange land with foreign people in order to stay with Naomi. Even more significant, Ruth was willing to acknowledge Naomi’s God as her own. She referred to God in vs. 16 using the more general name for God, but in vs. 17 Ruth used the personal name of the Lord of Israel. Thus Ruth’s commitment was not only a pledge to Naomi but also a commitment to the true God.
Ruth’s moving words reflect several characteristics of a commitment of one person to another. For one thing, Ruth’s commitment was voluntary. She was not forced to go with Naomi. Naomi placed pressure on Ruth. Naomi used no subtle ways of making Ruth responsible to go with her. To the contrary, Naomi tried to persuade Ruth to return to her homeland. This showed Naomi’s love for Ruth, for the older woman knew that hard times were ahead for Ruth. Ruth acted on her own, even over the protests of Naomi.
Second, Ruth’s commitment was total. Ruth made a commitment that covered all dimensions of life. She gave herself completely to Naomi. She made a commitment to care for her mother-in-law. Ruth pledged to live and to die wherever Naomi did. In other words, she committed herself to care for Naomi for as long as she lived.
Third, Ruth’s commitment was unconditional. She stated no conditions under which she could be released from her commitment. Like all expressions of true love, Ruth committed herself unconditionally. This explains why Ruth’s words in 1: 16-17 are often used at weddings. These words express well the kind of unconditional commitment involved in marriage. Unconditional commitment survives the worst that might come.
Why did this young woman from Moab make such a commitment to this grieving older widow? Is it too simple to say that Ruth did this because she cared about Naomi? Ruth had experienced grief of her own when her young husband had died. Naomi had lost her husband and both of her sons. Ruth saw Naomi’s deep grief, and she cared.
Ruth also realized that Naomi had no family left. Naomi would be alone in her own land, dependent on the charity of strangers. A widow without children of her own was helpless. Naomi needed a caregiver, and Ruth felt a calling to care for her. And it seems Ruth had experienced a divine calling to care for her.
Ruth felt compassion on Naomi. Ruth made her vow to God, the source of all true caring. She did not know what the future held, but readers of the rest of the book recognize the hand of God in her commitment.
All Christians have opportunities to be caregivers. Some care giving is short-term and some is long-term. The Good Samaritan is an example of one who did what he could for a needy man along the road. Christians should begin each day with a prayer that we can be sensitive to recognize opportunities of witness and ministry, and that we would act in a caring way to persons in need of care.
Some Christians find themselves in situations and relationships that call them to be long-term caregivers. Most of these, but not all, are within our families. This kind of care giving usually is because of illness or disability of a love done. Being a long-term caregiver calls for a commitment like that of Ruth toward Naomi.
Some lasting lessons from Ruth 1: 15-17 are:
God sometimes calls a person to be a caregiver to one in special need.
Some caregiving is short-term and some is long-term.
Christians should have a commitment to be the instruments of a caring God.
PLEASE TURN TO RUTH 2.
PLEASE READ RUTH 2: 2-7.
When Naomi returned to Bethlehem, the people asked, “Is this Naomi?” No doubt being away for more than a decade along with her tragedies had changed Naomi. Naomi told the people to call her Mara, which means “bitter,” rather than Naomi, which means “pleasant.” She said, “The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.”
At this point Naomi was so wrapped up in her grief that she failed to recognize the jewel that she had in Ruth. But the last line of Ch. 1 gives the first clue of a turnaround. They arrived in Bethlehem “in the beginning of barley harvest.”
Ruth was not one to sit around a wait for good fortune. She joined the poor people of the area by going into the fields as a gleaner. This means that she followed the reapers and picked up the grains of barley. The ears of corn were probably gains of barley, for what we call corn is the maize that the Native Americans introduced to the pilgrims.
Under the Mosaic Law, landowners and their reapers were commanded not to go back and pick up any grain they had missed. They were to leave if for the poor to glean for their own food. Gleaning was hard work, and doing it was an admission that one was a poor person. It was also risky for a young, single woman.
Before Ruth went to glean, she asked Naomi’s permission. Then she went to a field, asked the overseer for permission to glean there, and gleaned in the field after the reapers. The hand of God led her to a field belonging to Boaz.
The words her hap means that she “happened” to be there. Some would call this coincidental, but believers see it as providential. The rest of the book shows that this was the work of God to bring together Ruth and Boaz.
Ruth 2: 1 introduced us to this man who played a key role in what happened to Ruth and Naomi. “He was a prominent man of noble character,” and even more important, he was “from Elimelech’s family.”
Boaz’s greeting to his reapers (the Lord be with you) and their response (the Lord bless thee) show that Boaz was a man of faith in God. Boaz asked his overseer about the young woman among the gleaners. He said that she was the young woman who had come back to Bethlehem from Moab. Here and elsewhere the speakers in the narrative stressed that Ruth was a Moabite (It is the Moabitish damsel). The overseer emphasized her hard work. After she had asked his permission to glean in the field, she began work in the morning and worked continuously except for a short rest.
Although Ruth was an outsider, she did not let that stop her from seeking a way to help Naomi survive. Gleaning was destined as one way for widows to get food. Naomi was probably too old for this tiring and strenuous work. So Ruth took the initiative and acted. She knew she and Naomi needed food, so she found away to get it.
In this passage, we discover that Boaz lived up to his noble character, and Ruth showed herself to be a determined, resolute woman. She knew what she needed to do, she found the place to do it, and she did not give up until she got what she needed.
People who take care of others must be sensitive to what those they take care of need and then act to meet those needs.
Isn’t this what Jesus taught in the Golden Rule? He taught us to put ourselves in the place of those who need help and determine what we would need; then do the thing we would want others to do for us.
From these verses we learn that people who care about others, should determine what others need. They should think of ways to meet those needs and then they should act to meet the needs.
PLEASE READ RUTH 2: 10-12.
Boaz spoke to Ruth. He told her to remain in his field. He encouraged her to drink from the water the young men had brought. He told her that he had instructed his men not to touch her. Ruth was moved by his kind words. She fell down before him, and asked how she had found grace in his eyes. After all, she was a foreigner and a stranger to him.
Bethlehem was a small town. Everyone knew everyone else. Naomi’s return had been news, and the young woman with her was even bigger news. Although Boaz had not met Ruth, he had heard all about her. He knew that her husband had died and that she had committed herself to be with Naomi. He understood her reason for gleaning was to help care for Naomi. He knew some of the sacrifices Ruth had made. She had left her father and her mother and all the security that she would have received if she had returned home.
In addition she had left the land of her birth and come to live among people who were foreigners and strangers to her. She had done all of this for Naomi’s sake. Boaz obviously was impressed by what she had done and what she had given up. Being a man of faith he blessed her by asking God to reward her for what she had done: “May you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
Ruth told Boaz that his words comforted and encouraged her. Boaz asked her to eat with him and his reapers. Before leaving, Boaz told the reapers to leave some grain for her to pick up. Ruth ended up with “about 26 quarts of barley.” Naomi was thrilled when Ruth told her about Boaz. She told Ruth, “He is one of our family redeemers.”
New hope came to Naomi, and she laid out a bold strategy to call the attention of Boaz to his responsibility as family redeemer. Ruth successfully carried out the plan, which is described in Ch. 3.
The result was a favorable response. Boaz told Ruth that he was a family redeemer but there was another man of closer kin to Elimelech. Boaz, however, promised to confront the man the next day and if the other man failed to act, Boaz would assume that role.
Truly caring for others calls for sacrifices to be made by the caregiver. All of us know husbands and wives who literally give their lives to care for needy children and of children who care for aged parents. Of course the ones needing care also have lost something----health or the ability to function as they once did. But in most cases, their losses were not chosen but imposed by forces beyond their control. They appreciate those who voluntarily make sacrifices for them.
We have been focusing on nonprofessional caregivers, but let’s not forget the many people whose jobs involve caring for others. Those professional or vocational caregivers who are Christians see what they do as a calling from God, not merely as a job or the way to make money. I hesitate to try to list vocations that involve caring for others, for nearly every one has opportunities for caring help.
Boaz took the time to commend Ruth for the sacrifices she had made in order to care for Naomi. Caregivers likewise need encouragement from family and friends. Wherever possible, others should help those who are caregivers. PLASE TURN TO RUTH 4.
PLEASE READ RUTH 4: 13-17.
Under Naomi’s urging, Ruth brought it to Boaz’s attention that he was her family redeemer. Boaz corrected that misunderstanding, but when the first family redeemer refused to take on the responsibility, Boaz gladly took it on. He saw it as an even greater kindness that Ruth would seek him out, and he married Ruth. Ruth and Naomi were no longer left on their own.
An even greater blessing was about to be given them. Ruth and Boaz had a child. This truly was a blessing from God, for in 10 years of marriage in Moab Ruth never produced a child. This blessing was also fulfilled Naomi’s desire for an heir. As the heir of Ruth, the child was also the heir of Naomi. Obed became her pride and joy.
Vs. 16 is a beautiful picture.” Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him. Some people think this means that Naomi adopted the child. Most see Naomi as a loving grandmother. According to bloodlines the baby was not her grandson: but according to Jewish law, he was born to take the place of her husband and sons. By that standard, he was her grandson.
The women around Naomi also saw this as a great blessing from God. God had not left Naomi without a family redeemer today. Boaz had earlier been referred to as the family redeemer, but the context shows that these women were talking about someone else, namely, the newborn son.
This reference to a family redeemer is in the context of mentioning the son’s birth and the women refer to today, so they were referring to the child. They were not using the term in its technical or legal sense: the child would not fulfill this role because he would redeem Naomi’s possessions or resolve any legal problems. Instead the child took away the reproach of childlessness; he took away Naomi’s insecurity.
The women’s desire was that this child’s name---his role as Naomi’s family redeemer---would become know or famous---and not just in Bethlehem. They wanted this gracious act from the hand of God to be known throughout the nation of Israel.
Naomi was renewed in the birth of this child. Consider the women’s words against the backdrop of Naomi’s earlier complaint against God. God had met these complaints in the birth of this child.
The child would grow and always be there for her, providing for her needs even in her old age. Old age is literally “gray hairs.” Even if Naomi’s current benefactor, Boaz, were to die suddenly, this child would be there to meet her needs.
Israelite culture gave prominence to sons, and the ideal family consisted of seven sons. Against that conventional thinking the women viewed Ruth as better for Naomi than seven sons. Ruth was a Moabite and a woman, but the kindness, care, and love she showed Naomi was unmatched.
Naomi assumed the role of a nanny and guardian to her grandson. She did not nurse the child or serve as a surrogate mother, but she took care of him.
The women either named or affirmed the name that had been given to the child: Obed, from the word for “to serve.’ Obed’s name reflects his role in the life of Naomi. But he also served the larger purpose of God. His loving service to this woman became known, but Obed’s name became famous in an even greater way. It was through Obed that Israel received their greatest king----David. “And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.”
Ruth 4: 13-27 teaches us a couple of key lessons:
God answers our complaints in His timing, and He does it in a way that brings greater glory to Himself.
We serve God’s purposes when we provide care to our relatives.
Caring for others is not easy, but it brings rich rewards.
The rewards grow out of the act of caring.
NEXT WEEK FROM 1 SAMUEL WE LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH FAMILY SITUATIONS THAT BREAK ONE’S HEART. A.V. DAUGHERTY <altav@swbell.net>