Ruth
1:1-2
“1 During the time of
the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with
his wife and two sons to live in the land of Moab for a while. 2 The
man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two
sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah.
They entered the land of Moab and settled there.”
Our Historical Biblical story this morning ties to last week’s message and time of the Judges. Remember that is the time frame between the passing of Joshua the son of Nun and the appointing of the first King of Israel. The time of Judges is a period of religious rebellion and foreign oppression. Scripture does not tell us why the famine has occurred, but knowing that this is a time of invading armies, many battles, the removal of God’s blessing, all due to the faithlessness of the people of God we should not be surprised.
Whatever
the cause of the famine, Elimelech decides that moving his family to a new
environment, the country of Moab, is the right thing for them. Elimelech plans
the move so he can better provide for his wife and sons, but things did not
work out as well as he liked.
Ruth 1:3-5
“Naomi’s
husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her
sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was
named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about 10 years, 5 both
Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and
without her husband.”
The
family relocates to Moab, and then husband and father dies. The sons pick up
the pieces and get married and then 10 years later they to pass on. Here Naomi
is left not only without her spouse, but has also lost her two sons. This would
be devastating for any person to endure, but it would have been even more
lonesome living in another country away from any family.
Naomi
a faithful wife and mother is now left with two Moabite women, her daughter
in-laws, and all three of them are widows. Naomi decides the best course of
action for her is to return to Bethlehem and encourages Ruth and Oprah to go
back to their families.
Ruth
1:8-9
“8 She said to them, “Each of you go back to your
mother’s home. May the Lord show faithful love to you as
you have shown to the dead and to me. 9 May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the house of your new
husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.”
Oprah eventually listed to Naomi
and headed back to her family in hopes of beginning a new life. Ruth on the
other hand insisted on staying by Naomi’s side.
Ruth 1:16-17
“But Ruth replied:
Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you
go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my
people, and your God will be my God. 17 Where you die, I will
die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh punish me, and do so severely, if
anything but death separates you and me.”
Ruth was not going
to budge, even to the point of asking Yahweh to punish her if she did. As far
as Ruth was concerned Naomi was her family now and no one else mattered. As
much as Naomi may not have wanted to admit it she needed Ruth, see needed the
companionship.
Ruth 1:20-21
“20 Don’t
call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very
bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has pronounced judgment on me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
Naomi is blaming God for the
famine, she blames God for the death of Elimelech, and the death of both of her
sons. Naomi is blaming God for her where her life has ended up, hungry, lonely,
grieving, and she blames God for ruining the lives of Oprah and Ruth. Naomi
blames God and it is turning into bitterness against Him.
Most of us can relate to making bad
choices in life and having to deal with the consequences. If we make a bad
choice or a long string of them, we know that when disaster hits it is hard to
place the blame anywhere else except on us. To the best of our knowledge that
is not what happened here. Naomi did not cause the famine or murder her sons,
she was the victim of a sinful world.
Ecclesiastes 9:12
“For man certainly does not know
his time: like a fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so
people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.”
Bad things happened and Naomi had
to pick up the pieces.
I am sure some of us can relate to
this! Naomi faced loss after loss and bitterness brewed within her. She blamed
God for her situation, she probably asked God many why questions that we can
relate to.
Why would God allow cancer, heart
attacks, or strokes to happen to me or a loved one?
Why would God allow children to be
abused or beaten?
Why would God not allow me to
provide for my family?
Why would God allow me to struggle
with sin?
Why, Why, Why? I am sure each of us
have had our why questions during our lifetimes.
Anger and bitterness prevail during
these times in our lives as it was in Naomi’s. Thankfully her story does not
end there.
Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem
and Ruth works daily to gather food to feed her and her mother in-law. See
there was not a lot of work for an older widow and a pagan foreigner. There was
no want ads or job finder website for them to use. Their options were to beg or
go glean in the fields of one of the farmers. She ends up in the fields of Boaz
and he looks after her.
Ruth 2:8-9
“8 Then
Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another
field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. 9 See
which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young
men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the
young men have filled.”
We see in the
following verses that Boaz continues to look out for Ruth. He providers her a
huge lunch, which she takes some of it home to Naomi. He has his men leave some
grain behind for her, and she gathered more than she would have otherwise. Boaz
was a blessing to Ruth and to Naomi.
To this point in
the story, Ruth has risked everything for Naomi. She left her homeland to be a
foreigner in a land that her people had oppressed for 18 years. Things could
have turned really ugly for this young lady. Instead Boaz sees the good in her.
He sees her courage, faith, and dedication and favors her.
At the end of the
day Ruth tells Naomi all that has happened.
Ruth 2:20
“20 Then
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, who has not forsaken his kindness to the living or the dead.”
Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our family
redeemers.”
It is in this
verse that we see Naomi changing from one who blames God for all the bad things
in her life to a woman who sees that the Lord has not forgotten her. She tells
Ruth that God has shown kindness to them as well as the dead members of her
family by placing Ruth in the field of Boaz. This is a key verse in the Book of
Ruth. Here bitter Naomi sees God moving and extending kindness, something she
did not expect to happen.
Also in this verse we see that Boaz
is one of their ‘family redeemers’ or as The Story translated it ‘kinsman-redeemer’.
What the heck is a kinsman-redeemer? There are 5 requirements of a kinsman or
family redeemer.
The redeemer must be a near kinsman, or a relative to the one redeemed.
The redeemer must be willing to
perform the work of the redemption.
The redeemer must possess the
ability to redeem.
The redeemer must himself be free.
The redeemer must pay the value or
price of redemption.
Kinsman redeemers are relatives who could help family members out in their time of need. They would redeem property, buy back slaves, avenge wrongful deaths, marry widows, help with court cases, and generally be an advocate for family members in need.
For Naomi and Ruth, who had
nothing, if Ruth were to become part of Boaz’ household they would be provided
for. Elimelech’s land would be bought back and they would be provided for. As
the harvest season comes to an end, Naomi seeks to play matchmaker in an effort
to provide for Ruth.
Naomi has Ruth get all dressed up
in her nicest clothes and gives her specific directions on what she is to do in
an effort to have Boaz’ step up as kinsman redeemer. Boaz had shown favor to
Ruth and their hope was that Boaz would be willing to take on this
responsibility.
Ruth went to the threshing floor
and as the night wore down, she went and laid at Boaz feet.
Ruth 3:8-9
“8 At
midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a
woman! 9 So he asked, “Who are you?” “I am Ruth, your slave,”
she replied. “Spread your cloak over me, for you are a family redeemer.”
The Book of Ruth
goes on to tell us that her faithfulness to God and Naomi is repaid. Boaz is
willing to step up and be the kinsman redeemer but there is a something that
needs to be worked out first. In the morning Boaz tracks down the one family
member that is first in line as redeemer and ask him about the land and then
about Ruth. When this man thinks about his wife, his kids, their inheritance he
backs away pretty quickly and offers Boaz the opportunity to step up and become
the kinsman redeemer.
At a great risk
and personal expense Boaz becomes kinsman redeemer. He marries Ruth to carry on
the family name of Elimelech, as the first born would belong to Ruth’s first
husband. Boaz also had to pay for the land of Elimelech. As kinsman redeemer
Boaz used his own resources to benefit others. Due to his graciousness Naomi
and Ruth were now being cared for by a godly, generous, and caring man. Boaz
and Ruth were married and a short time later a son was born.
Ruth 4:14-17
“14 Then
the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has
not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in
Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old
age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than
seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child,
placed him on her lap, and took care of him. 17 The neighbor
women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the
father of Jesse, the father of David.”
Naomi is blessed
and her faith in God is restored.
Boaz and Ruth are
the Great Grandparents of King David.
Most of us can
identify with some part of Naomi and Ruth’s story. They experienced a life
changing situation that rocked their world. Naomi felt that God had turned away
from her. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever asked those ‘Why’
questions to God?
Naomi and Ruth had
Boaz who stepped in and redeemed them, we have our own redeemer.
1 Peter 1:18-19
“18 For
you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the
fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but
with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or
blemish.”
Jesus Christ is
our ultimate Kinsman Redeemer.
A redeemer must be
a near kinsman, Jesus Christ is a near kinsman to all mankind because He is
fully human and our creator.
A redeemer must be willing to
perform the work of the redemption, Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life
for all of human kind.
A redeemer must possess the ability
to redeem. Jesus Christ is the only one capable of redeeming us due to living a
sinless life.
A redeemer must himself be free,
Jesus Christ was free because He fulfilled the law.
A redeemer must pay the value or
price of redemption, Jesus Christ offered Himself as the price of redemption.
No matter what is going on in your
life or the struggles you have faced Jesus Christ has redeemed you!
Thank you for reading and may God Bless You Abundantly!
Robert
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