The book of Ruth tells a story of events after the Israelites possessed the land of Canaan, but before the monarchy. Governmental “structure” was limited. It was in the days of the judges, who were men and women who led the people, even in some military actions.
A famine arises in the land. Elimelech and his wife Naomi have been living in the Bethlehem vicinity, but they decide it is better to move to the land of the Moabites. They pack up their belongings and their two sons and leave their home. After a time in Moab, Elimelech dies. Mahlon and Chilion get married. Naomi’s daughters-in-law are Moabite. Ruth and Orpah are good and kind to their husbands and have a good relationship with their mother-in-law.
About ten years after the move to Moab, Mahlon and Chilion both die. Naomi is left alone in a foreign land, with no family, no means of support. Ruth and Orpah stay by her side and for a short time the three women struggle to survive.
Naomi decides to return to her home country around Bethlehem.
Ruth and Orpah set out on the journey with her. But Naomi knows how hard it would be for her daughters-in-law. They are Moabites. It’s bad enough to be a foreigner, but amongst her people in Bethlehem, Moabites have questionable reputations. Besides, as women alone they would be incredibly vulnerable. She doesn’t want to expose them to the dangers. There would be no future in Bethlehem for them and she tells them so. If she’d had other sons, they would have married Ruth and Orpah, but there is no hope, no possibility of hope.
Leverite Law: This was a law that was intended to keep a man’s name “alive.” If a man died without children, his brother was to marry the widow. Lacking a brother, it was to be the closest male relative. The first child of the union was considered to be the child of the deceased. Another benefit of the law to provide for the widow and fulfill her right to have children. Naomi is alluding to this when she is trying to convince Orpah and Ruth not to come to Bethlehem with her. She asks that even if she was to marry that night and if there was hope for her (to have children), would they want wait for those sons to be grown? There were similar laws/customs for the land, for if land was to be sold, then the closest relative was to be given the first opportunity to purchase it. All of this came into play later in the book of Ruth as well.
Naomi is lost in despair and says that the hand of the Lord has turned against her.In a world in which there was no concept of free will, it was believed that everything that happened was what God had directed. Famine had driven them out of Canaan, her husband died, her sons died and now there was nothing left for Naomi except to return home to exist for a time before dying.
When she does arrive home and is greeted by old friends she tells them not even to call her by name. For Naomi means “pleasant” and Naomi’s life was bitter, so she tells them to call her Mara, which means bitter. Why? Because, she says, “the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.”
She goes on to say, “I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the LORD has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
But Naomi’s life has taken a turn for the better, though she doesn’t yet recognize it. Though Orpha was convinced by Naomi’s logic to return to her home and take up her life there, Ruth has stubbornly refused to leave Naomi. She travels to a foreign land with her mother-in-law, despite the uncertainties of the situation. She promises that Naomi’s land and people will be her land and people. Naomi’s God will be her God.
To sustain them, Ruth goes into the fields to glean. She suggests to Naomi that she may find favor in someone’s sight.
The owner of the fields is Boaz. Boaz sees Ruth and is impressed by her hard work and concern for her mother-in-law. He makes sure she is protected, receives food to eat and is able to glean a generous amount.
A non-biblical tradition about Ruth is that she sought to follow the laws of God very carefully. In gleaning, the law assigns to the poor two ears of grain let fall by accident, but does not refer to quantities more than this. The tradition is that Ruth was trying so hard to follow the new religious laws that she refused to pick up anything more than two. If the reapers dropped more than that, she left it alone. The story adds that Boaz was impressed by her piety. What the scriptures tell us is that Boaz was impressed by how hard she works on behalf of her mother-in-law. He, also knowing that a foreign woman alone could be vulnerable, tells her to stay in his fields where he has ordered the young men to leave her alone. She is also to have access to the water drawn for the workers. At meal time he gave her food and also told the reapers to leave extra for her. Whether the tradition has any historical fact is, of course, unknown. But the words of Boaz to Ruth seem to indicate he was aware of her decision to follow the ways of Yahweh.
Naomi is surprised by how much Ruth has brought home. When Ruth explains what had happened, we see the first tiny break in her bitterness. And Naomi exclaims, “Blessed be he by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead.”
Boaz is a relative of Elimelech, although not the closest. Naomi guides Ruth to approach Boaz, asking for a relative’s protection. Boaz could refuse to help at all. Instead he contacts the nearest relative who has the right/responsibility to redeem some land belonging to Naomi’s family. But he tells the relative that Ruth is part of the deal. The story does not say so, but the impression is clear that Boaz intended all along to marry Ruth, although he wanted the legal part to be dealt with first.
A child is born to Ruth and Boaz, a child to be cherished by Naomi, who became his nurse. Obed was his name. He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who became King in Israel. Ruth is therefore listed in the genealogy of Jesus.
The name of Ruth is familiar to many people. Her words have been quoted at wedding ceremonies, although she spoke them first to a mother-in-law.
Ruth is the well-known name in the story. But what qualities do you think Naomi had to inspire Ruth’s loyalty? How much about God do you think Ruth learned from her mother-in-law? What about the character virtues that Boaz displays?
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