The book of Ruth is the 8th book of the Bible, and although it is only 4 short chapters, this book is rich in its symbolism of Jesus as our Kinsman-redeemer (more about this later) and in the character development of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. Ruth and Boaz are King David’s great-grandparents, and Ruth is one of the few women mentioned in the lineage of Christ.
The book of Ruth opens with a sad scene. Naomi, a wife and mother of a Jewish family is living in Moab, the land of the forbidden Moabites. She and her husband left their community of Jewish believers in Bethlehem and went to live in Moab because of a famine. And while there, her sons married Moabite women, her husband died, and then both her sons passed away. Naomi finds herself alone and struggling in a land of unbelievers, and hearing that God is providing food despite the famine in the land of Judah, she packs up her few belongings and decides to ‘head home.’
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So, a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
It’s important to note that this story takes place in the days of the book of Judges. This was a time when the Jewish people would follow their own ways. At first life would go well, and, not ‘needing’ Him, they would forget about God. But then things would get so bad that they would cry out to God who would send them a deliverer. This ‘judge’ would remind them of God’s truths. They Jewish people would repent, turn back to God, follow Him, and then when things were going well, would forget about God and the cycle would start all over again.
In Ruth we have a family from the line of Judah who has been commanded not to intermarry with those around them because the Israelites worship Yahweh, and the Moabites worship idols. Ruth and Elimelek not only go and live amongst the Moabites, (which was forbidden) but allow their sons to marry Moabite women who are clearly not followers of Yahweh. In fact, throughout the narrative, Bethlehem and the land of Judah are referred to as their ‘home’ and not the land of the Moabites where they are living.
Often we find ourselves in situations we wouldn’t be in if we obeyed God. He tells us not to lie, and we lie and then wonder how we got ourselves into ‘this mess.’ He tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We choose to retaliate or ‘teach a lesson’ and then suffer the consequences. We think our path is the best, or maybe we just justify that it is ‘ok and not that bad,’ and then find ourselves living in circumstances God has to help us out of, with consequences we didn’t think about.
Naomi and her husband have done the same thing. There is a famine in the land of the Israel, but instead of trusting God as all those around them do, they pack up and move to Moab. Moab is the very land they were to destroy so that the idols and ways of worship would not lead them astray. They are commanded to not intermarry between faiths, and yet they find Moabite wives for their sons. Let’s be clear here; this is not a matter of race. Moses marries a woman of another race and Miriam, the sister of Moses, is struck with leprosy for opposing it. “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.” (Numbers 12) The fault here is not with inter-racial marriage but a believer in Yahweh marrying an idol worshipper. And the result? Naomi finds herself in an impossible situation and needing to head home.
Regardless of the decisions we make, we can ALWAYS head home. As we will see with ‘the rest of the story’ God is always ready to take us back and welcome us in despite our mistakes. Today we see Naomi taking stock of her situation and deciding it is time to head home; her only hope. Today, whatever you are facing, wherever you are in your journey with God, even if you rejoice that you are in a good spot, remember that God is always there, always waiting, always receiving. You can always look at your situation and choose to head back home into the safe refuge of our loving Father.
2 Chronicles 7:14 ‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.’
Our song for today is O Come to the Altar by Elevation Worhip.