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“Ruth: Loyalty And Love ”
(Ruth 1:1-5 )
I. Introduction.
A. The Old Testament book of “Ruth” is really a love story in
a compact form, not an extended epic, but a short story.
The entire account is given in 85 verses. It was the full
range of human emotions, from grief to glad-hearted joy
and triumph.
B. Ruth’s life is a tale of redemption, told with living symbols.
She, herself, gives us a picture of every sinner. Widowed,
living in a foreign land, reduced to abject poverty, she was
not only an outcast and an exile, but lacked many resources
and in a state of utter destitution, from which she could
never hope to redeem herself by any means. She sought the
grace of her mother-in-law’s closest kinsmen, and her
whole life changed. This represents one of the most
beautiful narratives in all of Scripture.
C. Ruth’s story began near the end of the era of the Judges in
the Old Testament, about a century before the time of
David. It was a period that saw anarchy, confusion, and
unfaithfulness to the law of God. It was also a time of
severe famine in Israel.
1. The start of the book introduces us to the family
of Elimelech, his wife, Naomi, and their two sons,
mahlon and Chilion. They lived in Bethlehem.
2. A famine forced this family to move to Moab, a
mostly-desolate region, bounded on the west by
the Dead Sea and on the east by arid desert. Moab
was fertile, but very dry, and was largely destitute
of trees. It was good mostly for grazing flocks and
herds.
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3. The Moabites were descendants of Lot’s eldest
daughter through her incestuous relationship with her father. The child born of this union was named
“Moab.” Even though their ancestries had this close a relationship (Moab was a second cousin of
Jacob) the Moabites and Israelites generally
despised one another. (Moab was the nation whose
king, Balak, engaged the prophet Balaam to prophesy against Israel).
4. The Moabites worshipped a god they called
“Chemosh.” He was their principal deity, but
Numbers 25:2 suggests that they worshipped many
other gods, also. The scriptures call Chemosh,
“. . . the abomination of Moab. . .” in I Kings 11:7
and II Kings 23:13. Worship of the false god was
grotesque and involved human sacrifices
(II Kings 3:26-27).
5. Why, then, did Elimelech seek refuge in Moab? He
was a landowner in Bethlehem, prominent enough
to be called “our brother” by the city elders
(Ruth 4:2-3). That, along with Naomi’s faith and
character, tells us they were devout Jews, not
careless people of the world. The only answer
probably lies in the severity of the famine, and the
desperate times, physically and spiritually, that had
overtaken Israel.
D. Tragedies mounted for this family. Elimelech died
in Moab, leaving Naomi widowed with her two
sons. The sons were approaching adulthood and
they both married Moabite women. This might not
have pleased Naomi, but she graciously accepted
her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth (which
means “friendship”).
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1. But, now things got worse. Both Mahlon
(Ruth’s husband) and Chilion (the husband
or Orpah) died.
2. Now you have three widows, with no
children, no responsible relatives, in a time
of famine. What chance for survival did
they have? They had, indeed, been brought
to the edge of complete ruin and destitution.
3. When word reached Naomi that the drought
had ended in Israel, she made up her mind to
go home – impoverished, childless,
widowed, and aging. She had no land, or
possessions, but she longed for her
homeland and her own people, after ten
years among the Moabites. She decided to
return to Bethlehem.
4. Both daughters-in-law started the difficult
journey with Naomi, but Naomi felt it
better for them to stay with their families in
Moab. One major reason for this was
Naomi’s feeling that “. . . the hand of the
Lord has gone out against me!” (Ruth 1:13).
5. Ruth 1:6-14 give us this sad scene (read).
E. Ruth was determined to stay with Naomi, regardless of the
personal cost. She seemed to have developed a close bond
and attachment with her mother-in-law. But there was
more to her resolve than just that personal bond and
affection.
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II. Resolve And Redemption.
A. From her determined effort to dissuade Ruth from going
with her, we can conclude that Naomi felt it was not in
Ruth’s best interest to be tied down with an aging widow.
No doubt, Naomi loved Ruth, and would welcome her
companionship, but had Ruth’s future in mind. And,
Naomi really could not believe it was a good thing for
Ruth to back to her people and “. . . to her gods; . . .”
(Ruth 1:15).
1. Possibly, Naomi was testing Ruth, hoping to get
from her an explicit verbal profession of faith in
the One true God Naomi had always talked about
with her family.
2. It would be wrong to take Ruth to Israel and place
her, without financial support, in a culture where
she would have no genuine commitment to Israel’s
God.
B. Ruth’s reply to Naomi expressed her resolve to stay with
her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:16-17; read). Here is a poetic
testimony to both Naomi and Jehovah God. It says a great
deal about the example Naomi and the family set for Ruth.
C. Naomi’s return to Bethlehem caused some excitement
(“. . . And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem,
that all the city was excited because of them; and the
women said, ‘Is this Naomi?’” Ruth 1:19).
1. “Naomi” means “pleasant.” The women who
remembered her were glad to see her. She had
once, most likely, been a gregarious soul,
beloved by all who knew her.
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2. But, now her life was colored with sadness:
(read, Ruth 1:20-21).
3. Naomi saw the hand of God in her situation, but did
not complain, nor resent her circumstances.
D. Elimelech had a wealthy relative named Boaz, who had
prospered despite the years of famine. He was a landowner
with large buildings, and considerable influence. He is
identified, in Ruth 2:1, as “. . . a relative of Naomi’s
husband, . . .”
1. Boaz was also a direct descendant of Rahab.
Matthew 1:5 says “Salmon begot Boaz by
Rahab, . . .” That agrees with Ruth 4:21, but, the
number of years between the fall of Jericho and the
start of the Davidic dynasty suggests there must be
more generations between Salmon and David than
either Matthew 1 or Ruth 4 explicitly name.
2. Hebrew genealogy often skipped generations
between well-known ancestors. So, we cannot say
that Boaz was the actual son of Rahab, but we can
say he was in a direct line of descent from her.
E. In agreeing to go to Bethlehem with Naomi, Ruth was also
agreeing to help support and care for this aging woman.
But, Ruth herself was young and strong, so she went to
work in the fields gleaning what the harvesters left behind.
God’s law provided for this practice, so that even the most
destitute in Israel could always have the means to survive.
Not only was whatever fell from the sheaves of grain to be
left behind, but some fruit from trees and vines were to be
left unpicked. What was left was for anyone willing to
work to get it.
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1. As it happened, Ruth gleaned in one of Boaz’s
fields. Boaz himself visited his fields that very day,
to see the progress of the harvest.
2. When he saw the young Ruth, he took an immediate
interest in her. He sought out his chief servant, his
“foreman,” and asked who Ruth was
(read Ruth 2:4-7).
3. Ruth 2:3 says: “. . . she [Ruth] happened to come to
the part of the field belonging to Boaz, . . .” as
though this were purely by chance. But,
Proverbs 16:33 tells us: “The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.” Chance, or
“happenstance” is often the providence and plan of
God at work.
F. Realizing that Ruth was a relative of his by marriage, he
began to show her special favor. He encouraged her to
glean only in his fields, and to stay close to the harvesters.
He gave her permission to drink from the water he
supplied to his servants. He instructed his young men not
to touch her. Ruth knew such favor was not the norm,
especially for an impoverished woman from a foreign land
(read Ruth 2:10).
1. Boaz told her he’d heard of her faithfulness to
Naomi, and of the great sacrifice she’d made to
come to this foreign land. Then, Boaz gave Ruth a
blessing, reflecting the type of man he was (read
Ruth 2:12). Ruth’s reply is in verse 13 (read).
2. From that first meeting Boaz was obviously taken
with Ruth. Naomi was surprised by what Ruth was
able to get from the fields, and, when Ruth
explained to her that her benefactor’s name was
Boaz, Naomi saw the working of God in Ruth’s
prosperity (read Ruth 2:20).
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3. Naomi saw Boaz as Ruth’s redeemer and she
encouraged Ruth to follow his instructions and stay
exclusively in his fields, which Ruth did until the
end of the harvest season (Ruth 2:21-23).
G. If Boaz had ever been married, Scripture does not mention
it. According to Jewish tradition, he was a lifelong
bachelor. Naomi’s advice to Ruth was shockingly forward
for that culture. In essence, she counseled Ruth to propose
marriage to Boaz (read Ruth 3:3-4).
1. Boaz was so tired after the harvest season that he
didn’t notice Ruth until he awoke at midnight and
was startled to find a woman lying at his feet
(read Ruth 3:7-11).
2. Nothing immoral occurred, but Boaz, being
protective of Ruth’s reputation, awoke her and sent
her home just before dawn. He gave her a generous
portion of grain as a gift for Naomi.
3. As the story continues, Boaz went to the city gate,
and found Naomi’s true next of kin, the “. . .relative
closer than I” (Ruth 3:12). The two of them sat
down in the presence of ten city elders and
negotiated for the right to be Ruth’s redeemer
(in Hebrew, “goel”).
a. The role of redeemer required the individual
to buy back Elimelech’s property. In Israel,
land portions were a part of a family’s
lasting legacy from generation to generation.
Plots of family land could not be
permanently sold (Leviticus 25:23).
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b. Real estate that was “sold” to pay debts
remained in the possession of the buyer only
until the year of Jubilee, when it reverted to
the original owner’s family.
c. So long as Elimelech had no heirs, the
property he and Naomi had sold to pay their
debts would automatically become the
possession of anyone who acted as Naomi’s
“goel”, by redeeming her property. The
closer relative agreed to redeem the
property. But, there was a catch.
d. Boaz explained that, while Elimelech had no
surviving heir, the one who would be his
rightful heir (Mahlon) left a widow, Ruth. If
Ruth did remarry, under the principle of
Israelite law, and produced an heir, the
rights of Elimelech’s land would
automatically pass to Ruth’s offspring. The
only way around this was to marry Ruth.
e. The “closer relative” didn’t want to take so
expensive a risk that might even jeopardize
his own children’s inheritance. So he tells
Boaz: “. . .’I cannot redeem it for myself,
lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem
my right of redemption for yourself, for I
cannot redeem it.’” (Ruth 4:6).
4. Boaz now makes his statement to the city elders:
(Read, Ruth 4:9-10).
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III. Conclusion.
A. Ruth and Boaz were married, and God blessed them with a
son, Obed. Obed was the grandfather of the future king,
David.
B. Ruth, the Moabite woman, whose loyalty and love, and
faithfulness, led her away from her own land and people,
became the mother of the line of descent that would
produce Israel’s first great king. From that line would
come a redeemer for all mankind.
C. Ruth is a type of all who believe in Jesus as the Son of
God. As was she, we can be greatly favored, given riches
and privileges, exalted as the Redeemer’s bride, and loved
by Him with the profoundest of affections.