Ruth, chapter 1
Ruth chapter 1:1 ¶ Now it
came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the
land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of
Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2
And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife
Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of
Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
3 And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died;
and she was left, and her two sons. 4
And they took
them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was
Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
5 And Mahlon and Chilion died
also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her
husband.
So we are now in the time of the Judges again. Ruth is a fitting
extension to the Book of Judges. We’ve seen the ebb and flow of deliverance and
apostasy bracketed by the time before the Judges brought order to the land. The
first few verses show us how fluid borders were in the ancient world with no
welfare states as Elimelech flees the famine along with his wife, Naomi, and
his sons. He is from Bethlehemjudah and is of the tribe of Ephraim.
The two sons took them Moabite wives, perhaps after Elimelech died
because he may have forbidden such a things, or perhaps the statement is just
to state they took two Moabite wives possibly during their father’s lifetime.
In the process of time Naomi’s husband and her sons die leaving
her and her daughters-in-law widows. We are going to see how God will even use
the Israelites’ apostasy to further His plan of redemption by including this
upright and righteous Moabite woman in His plan.
This woman from a tribe that began with an illicit sexual
encounter between a drunken Lot and his firstborn daughter, in Genesis 19 will
be in Christ’s lineage.
Ruth 1:6 ¶ Then she arose
with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for
she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people
in giving them bread. 7 Wherefore she
went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with
her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law,
Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye
have dealt with the dead, and with me. 9
The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the
house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and
wept. 10 And they said unto her, Surely
we will return with thee unto thy people. 11
And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are
there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn again, my daughters, go your
way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if
I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; 13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown?
would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth
me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
14 And they lifted up their voice, and
wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in
law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy
sister in law. 16 And Ruth said, Intreat
me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for
whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will
I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death
part thee and me. 18 When she saw that
she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
Notice also how easily one in the ancient world would worship the
gods or God of their spouse or the land they chose to live in and go back as
Orpah did. Ruth, however, is faithful to her mother in law and through her
mother in law to God Himself. This shows you just how influential a Godly woman
can be on her daughters in law.
Ruth 1:19 ¶ So they two
went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to
Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is
this Naomi? 20 And she said unto them,
Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with
me. 21 I went out full, and the LORD
hath brought me home
again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD
hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess,
her
daughter in law, with her,
which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the
beginning of barley harvest.
The barley harvest is significant here in
that sources say it was the primary food grain in ancient Israel. It ripened
around the time of Passover which is also the time of Christ’s crucifixion and
resurrection.
Naomi’s return home is bittersweet but she
is not rejected for having gone into a heathen country with her husband years
ago. Perhaps they regard her troubles as the consequence of apostasy but that
is not evident from the text.
Ruth, chapter 2
Ruth 2:1 ¶ And Naomi had a
kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech;
and his name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth
the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of
corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her,
Go, my daughter. 3 And she went, and
came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a
part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of
Elimelech.
Boaz is a man of wealth. Here is the law regarding the poor
gleaning the fields for grain that was left behind.
Leviticus 19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land,
thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather
the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And
thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy
vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your
God.
Corn is a reference to the whole fruit of wheat grain with the
husks, the head of wheat, in Early Modern English and is not a reference to the
kind of corn we know of here in America yet.
John 12:24 Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Hap in verse 3 is translated from a Hebrew word meaning roughly our
‘luck’ or ‘chance’. Think of
happenstance or coincidence in English today. This is so from mankind’s point
of view as from God’s point of view there is not such thing. God directed Ruth
to Boaz’s field.
Ruth 2:4 ¶ And, behold,
Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with
you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. 5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set
over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? 6 And the servant that was set over the reapers
answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi
out of the country of Moab: 7 And she
said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves:
so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she
tarried a little in the house. 8 Then
said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another
field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: 9 Let thine eyes be on the field
that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men
that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels,
and drink of that which the young men have drawn. 10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself
to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that
thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? 11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath
fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the
death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy
mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou
knewest not heretofore. 12 The LORD
recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel,
under whose wings thou art come to trust. 13
Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou
hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid,
though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. 14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou
hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat
beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat,
and was sufficed, and left. 15 And when
she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean
even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: 16 And let fall also some of the handfuls
of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and
rebuke her not.
Boaz not only extends his hospitality to Ruth but also his
protection showing us that it was not impossible for a poor person to be harassed
by the farm workers. Boaz knows of her reputation for faithfulness to her
mother-in-law. He also blesses her. Boaz gives orders to his men not to rebuke
her for what she is doing.
Ruth 2:17 ¶ So she gleaned
in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an
ephah of barley. 18 And she took it
up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and
she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was
sufficed. 19 And her mother in law said
unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be
he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom
she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is
Boaz. 20 And Naomi said unto her
daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his
kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is
near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. 21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me
also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my
harvest. 22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her
daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his
maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. 23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to
glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her
mother in law.
Strong’s says an ephah of barley was the equivalent roughly of 40
liters or 9 imperial gallons. I can’t imagine the exact amount but it must have
been a successful day. It is interesting to note that she shared with her
mother-in-law what she needed. Naomi clearly has in mind the goodness of a
match between Ruth and Boaz.
Ruth, chapter 3
Ruth 3:1 ¶ Then Naomi her
mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that
it may be well with thee? 2 And now is
not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth
barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3
Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee,
and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man,
until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4
And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where
he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down;
and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. 5
And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
Naomi is intent on being matchmaker here hoping that Boaz can be
induced to secure Ruth as a wife. This rather alien device, to us anyway,
involves a good deal of risk if Boaz was not a good man.
Ruth 3:6 ¶ And she went
down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.
7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and
his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and
she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. 8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man
was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9 And he said, Who art thou? And she
answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over
thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. 10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the
LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end
than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor
or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, fear
not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people
doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. 12 And now it is true that I am thy near
kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. 13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the
morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well;
let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to
thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth:
lie down until the morning.
According to John Gill Ruth’s actions and Boaz’s response had to
do with Naomi’s desire to have him fulfill this role as a near kinsman of Ruth’s
late husband and take her as his wife.
Deuteronomy 25:5 ¶ If
brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of
the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall
go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an
husband’s brother unto her. 6 And it
shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his
brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother’s
wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say,
My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he
will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him,
and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;
9 Then shall his brother’s wife come
unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot,
and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that
man that will not build up his brother’s house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The
house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
Ruth 3:14 ¶ And she lay at
his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And
he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. 15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou
hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures
of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother in law, she
said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had
done to her. 17 And she said, These six measures
of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
18 Then said she, Sit still, my
daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in
rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
One thing to notice about this is the importance of familial
obligations and exchange as Boaz does not send Ruth home to her mother-in-law empty-handed.
The Who are thou, my daughter? is said by Matthew Henry to
be a question like, are you a bride or not?
Ruth, Chapter 4
Ruth 4:1 ¶ Then went Boaz
up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz
spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here.
And he turned aside, and sat down. 2 And
he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they
sat down. 3 And he said unto the
kinsman,
Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a
parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s: 4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it
before the
inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt
redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then
tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside
thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. 5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the
field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it
for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself;
for I cannot redeem it. 7 Now
this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and
concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and
gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.
8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz,
Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
Perhaps this near kinsman had a good reason for refusing to marry
the Moabitess. What about the admonitions in the Law not to unite with those of
the land around them? Would this person hold it against this godly Moabitess
that she was ethnically of a vile nation?
However, John Gill states that the man, having a wife and children
already probably, did not wish to take on another wife and further put a strain
on his inheritance that he would pass on.
Ruth 4:9 ¶ And Boaz said
unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this
day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was
Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of
Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon
his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his
brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
11 And all the people that were
in the gate, and the elders, said, We
are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that
is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the
house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
12 And let thy house be like the house
of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give
thee of this young woman.
Ruth 4:13 ¶ So Boaz took
Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her
conception, and she bare a son. 14 And
the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee
this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy
life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth
thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her
bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17 And
the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi;
and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of
David. 18 Now these are the
generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19
And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, 20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon
begat Salmon, 21 And Salmon begat Boaz,
and Boaz begat Obed, 22 And Obed begat
Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
And so here we have seen how a Moabite woman becomes part
of Christ’s human heritage. It is interesting to note the role that this foreign
woman, like the prostitute from Jericho, Rahab or Rachab from the Greek in
Matthew 1:5, played in the history of Christ. No less interesting it is than
Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, in her deception of Judah, also had a part to
play. God’s plans and God’s order are often much different than we think it
should be in our Roman ordered worldview. History, God’s history of reconciling
mankind to Himself, is a messy affair, which reveals His mercy and grace as
much as it reveals His purpose.
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