A story of God’s faithfulness and providential care.
Little things matter….
The book of Judges is painted on a broad canvass. It’s the big story of the life of the Israelites after they settle in the Promised Land. It’s all about leaders and national identity. It speaks of God's concern for His people, despite their continual sin. Judges leaves us with a picture of a mighty God, involved in the major political events of the day, working His purposes out in the life of the nation, and its leaders.
But Jesus teaches us to pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread.' He speaks of a God who, although He is high and mighty, is also concerned with the little details of our individual lives. He cares for each of us in a personal way. It is in the personal relationships, and daily details of life that we need to see God. And so often, it is the detailed stories of people’s lives that faith becomes real. That's where we turn to the book of Ruth.
After the continuing sin and apostasy described in Judges, the story of Ruth comes as a refreshing interlude in the big picture of the Bible.
'In the times of the Judges, there was a certain man...' No longer are we concerned with the affairs of nations, now we're looking at a certain man, in a certain place, who has a wife and two sons.
The book of Ruth shows us how God chooses to reveal Himself to one woman, and how He provides for her needs. We have a reminder of God’s concern for the individual.
The names in this book provide an insight into what the story is about. A man called Elimelech, ‘My God is King’, lives in Bethlehem, ‘the House of Bread’, gets frightened by the prospect of famine, and takers his wife, Naomi, ‘Delightful’, along with his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, ‘Sick’ and ‘Failing’, to live in Moab.
The significance of this episode would not be lost upon a Jewish reader. Moab is one of the forbidden places - the Moabites refused to worship God and were enemies of the Jews. It was in Moab that Moses had looked down on the Promised Land. It was from Moab that Joshua had led the nation across the Jordan river to enter the Promised Land. There is a certain irony that a man called ‘My God is King’ should forsake his God, and flee to this foreign land. This surely is a backwards step. Perhaps that explains why he, and his sons, ‘Sick’and ‘Failing’, die in this foreign land, and the rest of the story concerns his wife, ‘Delightful’. We see how the Lord takes care of her, and through His providential care, restores her to her own people, and grants this family its rightful inheritance.
It is a foreign girl, Ruth, or ‘Companion’, who proves to be her mother-in-law's salvation. Before their deaths, Naomi’s sons marry Moabite girls, and when the boys die, widowed and childless, Naomi decides that her only option is to return to her own people in Bethlehem. Despite her protests, her daughter in law, the young widow Ruth, insists on returning with her, even though she knows that her prospects there will be pretty slim. However, fate, in the form of Boaz ‘Sharp Mind’, a wealthy kinsman of Elimelech intervenes. He notices Ruth's devotion to her mother-in-law and is kind to her in the cornfield. Naomi recognises Boaz as a good man and encourages Ruth to seek his favour. Boaz, being an honest and upright citizen knows his duty as a kinsman. He gains the right to marry Ruth, and they offer their first-born son, Obed, to Naomi, in order to preserve Elimelech's family name. In due course, Obed, becomes father of Jesse, who in turn is the father of David. Through God’s providential concern, Ruth, this faithful Moabite woman, earns her place in Matthew’s genealogy, as a direct ancestor of Jesus.
It is a lovely story that speaks of loyalty, fidelity, and faith. 'Your people will be my people, and your God my God' (1:16), says Ruth to her mother-in-law; the honesty of Boaz; the willingness of Ruth to support Naomi; the delight of Naomi in seeing the progress of Ruth; the vindication of the royal line which comes from the marriage. But shining through this story, we see, above all else, the hand of God at work.
Of course, the sceptic could argue that it is merely a story of fate. Ruth has a lucky break. She just happened to go to the right field, Boaz took a fancy to her, and it all turned out well. But that is not how the characters in the story saw it. Ruth had already made a vow to God that she would serve Naomi. Boaz, when he heard Ruth's story, was convinced of her sincerity and called upon God to bless her for her faithfulness:
'The Lord reward you for what you have done; may you be richly repaid by the Lord the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge' (2:12).
Naomi, likewise, sees the hand of the Lord in the events as they unfold: 'Blessings on Boaz from the Lord, who has kept faith with the living and the dead' (2:20).
For those who follow the Lord, life is no longer reduced to a series of random chances. It takes on new purpose and direction. God is intimately involved in the minute details of daily life. Faith provides the assurance that God can overrule in human affairs. It also reminds us of the importance of prayer: through prayer, we can align our wills with His will. It is by prayer and keeping close to God that we deepen our relationship with Him, learn to understand His ways and so ensure that we follow His will. It is only in the context of praying, 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done', that we can go on to pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread'. God is a God of love, who has our best interests at heart. The great theologian Karl Barth wrote, 'God is man's God and man is God's man'.
As we consider the nature of God, and our relationship with Him, our response can be no better than to come alongside Ruth and say, 'Your God shall be my God'. And we too can have the same assurance that Boaz offers to Ruth. ‘Under His wings we can find refuge’.
Purpose of the Book
There are several lessons to learn from this book:
The story of Ruth offers an illustration of the consequences of godliness. Faith and obedience lead to God’s blessing. God is concerned for the individual. We come entrust the details of our lives to Him.
We also discover that even under the Old Covenant, Gentiles can become part of the family of God. Perhaps it is significant that three out of the four women who Matthew mentions in his genealogy of Jesus are Gentiles: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth. They play an important part in the preparations for the great story of salvation.
The image of the kinsman-redeemer provides us with an early picture of redemption. We see the graciousness of God’s character as he offers care to His people.
Our prayer must be that we too may be gathered beneath the Lord's outstretched wings, so that we can say: God is in His heaven; all is well with the world.
“May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2: 12)
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