Today’s Saturday Spotlight is Ruth: Faithful Daughter-in-Law
Picture it! There is a terrible famine in Israel. Elimelech, a man from Bethlehem, and Naomi, his wife, decide to take their two sons and move to the country of Moab in order to escape the famine. There, Elimelech dies, and later, his two sons marry Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other, Ruth. About ten years later, both sons die, leaving Ruth and Orpah as barren widows who must now decide whether to go with their mother-in-law, Naomi back to Bethlehem in Israel, or to stay with their parents in Moab.
Naomi points out to Ruth that Orpah has chosen to return to her parents’ home and to their gods and to find a new husband there in Moab. She encourages Ruth to do the same.
However, faithful Ruth clings to her mother-in-law and states: “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.” Then Ruth ups the stakes by stating: “May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
It looks like Ruth has faith to do whatever it takes! She may have had some exposure to the true God through her husband and his family, but now three members of the family are dead, one has returned home, and the only remaining family member believes God has turned His back on them. Yet Ruth continues In faith to press forward toward Bethlehem.
When they arrive in Bethlehem her mother-in-law seems unrecognizable to the women of the town as they questioned if it was really her. She reiterates her bitterness stating, “Do not call me Naomi (meaning pleasantness), call me Mara (meaning bitterness) for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
It was not a hopeful start or welcome in Ruth’s new homeland. Yet, Ruth continues undeterred.
One day Ruth asks Naomi if she might glean grain from nearby fields. Her hard work catches the eye of Boaz, the owner of the field, who is a relative of her husband, and her determination to find favor pays off.
Boaz protects her. He tells the young men not to harm her and in fact to leave behind extra grain for her to glean. He also tells her to stay close to the women who work for him.
Ruth responds in humility, bowing her face to the ground and asking why she, a foreigner, has found favor in his eyes. Boaz praises Ruth’s faithfulness and shares that he is struck by all she has done and given up for her mother-in-law since her husband’s death. He also speaks a blessing over her saying: “The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
When Ruth returns to her mother-in-law at the end of the day after beating out what she had gleaned, she is carrying approximately 30 pounds of barley. She also brought leftover food from Boaz’ table. Naomi then blesses “the man” who took notice of Ruth and identifies him as one of their kinsman-redeemers.
When a family was left without a man to head it, a close relative or “kinsman-redeemer” would take over care of the widow or widows and the estate. Naomi tells her it is good that she remains in Boaz’ field for she could have been assaulted in another field. Ruth continues gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests.
Then, Naomi invites her daughter to do something that might seem scandalous to us. Her mother in law tells her to wash, put on perfume and get dressed in her best clothes and go down to the threshing floor and wait until Boaz is drunk and then go lay by his feet. Boaz is startled and when he asks who she is she tells him, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
He acknowledges that she has not gone after younger men and by doing so has shown kindness towards him. He also addresses her reputation noting that all of his fellow townspeople know that she is a “worthy” woman.
So that no one gets the wrong idea he tells her to not let anyone know that a woman was on the threshing floor and sends her away with additional barley. He notes that there is a closer relative than him but if that relative will not be her redeemer, then he will.
Boaz then goes to the closest relative along with ten elders as witnesses and asks if he wants to redeem the land of Elimelech and the relative initially agrees However, when he learns that Ruth is part of the arrangement he rejects it so that his own inheritance won’t be affected. That relative then takes off his sandal and gives it to Boaz inviting him to go ahead and be the redeemer. Boaz notes this to the witnesses and Ruth becomes his wife.
The witnesses then state: “May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Ruth then conceives a son. The women say to Naomi: “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is worth more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
They named him Obed which means “servant”, “worshipper” or servant of God.” He was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. This meant that Gentiles were included in the line of Jesse, from which Jesus Christ descended.
Imagine if Ruth had not had faith and devotion to her mother-in-law!
-Joyce
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