Ruth 3.1-5; 4.13-17
If you ever play Bible Trivial Pursuit, there are two things you need to know about Ruth. One: Ruth is one of only two women in the Bible with a book bearing her name — Esther is the other. And two: Ruth is an ancestor of both David and Jesus.
The truly interesting and amazing thing about these two facts is that Ruth was not an Israelite. Ruth was a Moabite, part of a people who were considered to be outsiders to God’s promises. Yet, by her faith and her own initiative, Ruth was given a full measure of God’s grace. Ruth stands as a model of faith for both insiders and outsiders.
The story of Ruth begins with two Israelites, Elimelech and Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, traveling to the foreign country of Moab because their hometown of Bethlehem was stricken by a famine. The family lived in Moab for 10 years; during that time, both sons married Moabite women. Chilion’s wife was named Orpah; she is an ancestor to Dr. Phil — well, kind of. Exactly five years to the day before I was born, a young mother in Mississippi decided to name her daughter after Orpah, but the name was misspelled on the birth certificate, and thus Oprah Winfrey came into the world. Back to the point: Mahlon married a Moabite woman named Ruth.
Sadly, in a short period of time Elimelech and both sons died, leaving Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth as widows. Hearing that the famine in Judah had ended, Naomi decided to return home. She urged Orpah and Ruth to return to their homes, as well. Orpah eventually decided to do so, but not Ruth. No, instead Ruth speaks the words that have been repeated at countless weddings throughout the years, without regard for the fact — and in many cases, without even knowing — that these words were spoken by a woman to her mother-in-law: “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
So Naomi and Ruth traveled to Bethlehem. Now, we have to understand the situation these two women are in, in light of the times they lived in. Both these women have lost their husbands, and both are now childless. That meant, in that day and time, that both Naomi and Ruth were powerless. They were on the edge of poverty, and they had no men to provide protection for them. Ruth, of course, had the additional burden of being a Moabite. The Israelis normally tended to not mingle with foreigners, because foreigners generally worshiped other gods. Certainly, Ruth’s prospects for marriage and children would have been better had she stayed in Moab.
In Judah, as an outsider, Ruth had no security, no prospects for the future. Nevertheless, Ruth had bound herself to Naomi, another hopeless and helpless woman with no future. Ruth risked her own future prospects out of compassion and love for Naomi. So the two widows arrive in Bethlehem, empty-handed. By a stroke of luck — or grace? — they arrive at the beginning of the barley harvest. Ruth, being the younger and more able of the two, gains permission to glean. That means that, as a widow, Ruth is allowed to follow the harvesters and gather the sheaves that are left behind.
Now, it just so happens — grace, again? — that the field where Ruth is gleaning belongs to Boaz, a wealthy man who also just happens to be a relative of Naomi’s and Ruth’s late husbands. It turns out that Boaz is well aware of the kindness and compassion which Ruth has shown to Naomi, and therefore Boaz shows kindness to Ruth, not only letting her glean but arranging for her to gather more than would be usual for a gleaner. Boaz even prays for Ruth, praying that she may find a full reward from the God of Israel.
So Ruth returns to Naomi with a full load of barley. When Naomi learns that the man who showed kindness to Ruth is a relative, she gives thanks to God. You see, Naomi realizes that Boaz, as a kinsman, is a potential redeemer for both Naomi and Ruth. Now, legally, Boaz is under no obligation to care for Naomi or Ruth. If Boaz had been Elimelech’s brother, he would have been required to marry Naomi, but apparently Boaz and Elimelech were cousins of some sort, or maybe uncle and nephew.
Nonetheless, Naomi sees the possibilities in the kindness Boaz has shown to Ruth, who is younger and more marriageable than Naomi, anyway. So, in good “Days of Our Lives” fashion, Naomi devises a plan for Ruth to present herself to Boaz, asking him to honor the role of family redeemer, even though he isn’t required to do so. Ruth accepts the plan and follows through with it, approaching Boaz under the cover of darkness and asking him to spread his cloak over her, signifying a proposal of marriage.
Can you imagine the risk Ruth took? Boaz could have thrown her out. He could have even denounced her as a prostitute! But, showing a gutsy kind of faith, Ruth takes the chance, and asks Boaz to give her a future. Boaz accepts his role as redeemer, and, by the way, fulfills his own prayer for Ruth, by marrying her. Ruth soon gives birth to a son, Obed, who later had a son named Jesse, who later had a son named David.
Naomi, who had at one point been so sad and hopeless that she asked people to call her “Mara” — which means “bitter” — Naomi is given the position of Obed’s nurse. Ruth — a young widow who left everything she knew behind out of compassion for Naomi — Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of a king.
Imagine how improbable this all was. The line of the Israelites that eventually produced not only kings but the Messiah was dependent upon the marriage of Boaz and this Moabite woman. This is incredibly amazing because the Israelites were very protective of the “purity” of their religion.
The story of Ruth shows us that the Israelites had lost their sense of mission. God chose the Israelites to be his people, way back in Abraham’s day, not in order for them to remain “pure,” not for them to keep God to themselves. God chose the Israelites in order for them to take God’s love to all of God’s creation. God said to Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Not just the Israelites — all the families of the earth. The story of Ruth is a reminder of the mission of God’s chosen people.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have a duty to respect and appreciate our Jewish heritage. However, we have to value even more the good news of Jesus, the Messiah, who came in order to offer salvation to the entire world — and who came from the line of Ruth and Boaz. We, too, are called to spread God’s love to all of God’s creation. We are not supposed to act as “insiders,” protecting our faith against the “outsiders.” Rather, we are called to bring the outsiders home with us, to turn the outsiders into family.
When we consider all the tragedy and loss that Naomi and Ruth suffered, we can see the wonder of the God of Second Chances. From famine at home, to travel in faraway places; from her sons’ weddings in a foreign land to one funeral after another, Naomi tried to make the most of a very difficult life. From the death of her young husband, to moving to a hostile land, to risking everything for a chance at a future, Ruth showed compassion, loyalty, and faith.
In the tragedies that we face in our own lives, we are called to be like Naomi and Ruth. We are called to make the most of our lives, to do the best we can with what life hands us. We are called to live with compassion, loyalty, and faith. When we do these things, the God of Second Chances will provide for us.
Ruth, the outsider, acted as a redeemer and became the redeemed. She took action by having faith in a God she claimed as her own, showing compassion for the helpless in the way she stayed by Naomi’s side. In doing so, Ruth was able to claim her place and her future with the people of God. We are called to model our own faith after Ruth, acting boldly to help the hopeless. We are called to put our trust in God, so that we might claim a full reward from God.
Ruth and Naomi put their faith in God, and God stepped in and blessed them and provided for them. If we put our faith in God, God will bless us and provide for us, as well. That doesn’t mean we’re all going to be millionaires, or that nothing bad is ever going to happen in our lives. It means that when bad things do happen, God will be there for us to lean on. It means that, when we’ve hit rock bottom, God will send someone to offer us a helping hand — someone like Boaz.
And let’s not forget Boaz. Boaz, who was willing to bring an outsider into the family of God’s chosen people. Boaz could have balked, but he didn’t, and because he didn’t, Boaz’s family tree would extend to the greatest of Israel’s kings, and on to the Messiah, the very Son of God.
So, regardless of how difficult our lives might be, regardless of whether we are insiders or outsiders in society, we need to remember that God is always with us, and we need to put our faith, our trust, in God.
