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THE STORY~ Chapter Nine: Ruth's Story

       INTRODUCTION

We might ask: Why is the Book of Ruth even in the Bible at all?

I mean, this woman isn’t even from the House of Israel.  She’s from the pagan culture of the Moabites!  …Not only that, her culture has a long history of being the enemies of God’s people.  …And even more, the Moabites have the dubious distinction of being the only people in Scripture to try an all-out spiritual attack on Israel.  They bribed the prophet Balaam to curse them.  (And of course, that didn’t work out so well for them.  Numbers 21-24) 

 In the spiritual order of things, the Moabites were on the bottom of the list.  Just listen to…

Deut 23

3.  "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the congregation of the Lord forever.

Ruth was a Moabite!  So, how did she manage to get a whole book of Hebrew Scripture focused on her?

Well, for the Old Testament person, the answer would appear to be at the end of the book:

Ruth 4

5.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,

 6.  and Jesse begot David the king.

By the end of the book, Ruth bears a son who turns out to be the great-grandfather of King David.

As amazing as that is, it is not nearly the full “upper story.”  We are not too interested in long family trees in our day, but for some reason, the very first words of the New Testament happened to be that very thing.   The first book of the New Testament, Matthew, begins with, of all things, the physical lineage of Jesus.    

In the lineage of Jesus, there are at least two women, Rahab and later, Ruth, (Matt 1:5) who are definitely, not of the house of Israel.  Why is this important?  Because lineage in the Bible isn’t simply where a person comes from, it is a portfolio of who they are.  The traits of each life are melded to the descendant’s own story.   In other words, the story of Jesus; why He was here and how He was here, is illustrated in these lives. 

Incredible!  The proclamation of what the Messiah would be is given a thousand years before, in the life of a non-Jewish woman.  So what was her life about?  What are the themes that run through it?

Let’s start with this, the fact that there are non-Jews in the lineage tells us: when the Messiah comes, He will be for the whole world, not just the house of Israel.  His rescue plan is even for the most lost and unlikely. 

But besides the theme of gracious acceptance, there are other important themes that run through the Book of Ruth.  One is a thread of extremes.  Ruth’s life was a life of the extraordinary; for example, it was a life of….

       extraordinary Hardship. 

In her “lower story”: The Promised Land had suffered a famine.  And it was so extreme that a Jewish couple named; Elimelech and Naomi, abandon their home and went into the land of Moab to survive.

They etch out a living with their two sons who eventually marry two Moabite women.  At some point, Elimelech, the father dies, and within ten years the mother, Naomi, loses both sons. 

Remember, at this time, the man was the sole bread-winner.  If a woman lost her husband, she was basically a non-entity in the society.  If she was young enough she might remarry.  But an older woman, especially with no extended family, had very poor prospects.

So Naomi sees life as a bitter blow from God and she decides to return to her homeland to spend her final days.  It’s game over, as far as she can see.  That is the “lower story” view. 

 But the “upper story” view is quite different.  It is not the end, but the beginning.  Ruth returns to Bethlehem.  --Bethlehem where one day, King David will grow up; Bethlehem where one day, the promise to David, the Christ Himself, would be born.

But at this point in the story, all Naomi knew was; she was on a lonely Moabite road, empty and hopeless, trudging back to her homeland.  Life was extraordinarily hard at the time.

Some of the most pivotal points in God’s great Story, come from some of the lowest points in our day to day experience.

       It’s a story of extraordinary character

Mother-in-law jokes are commonplace.  There are all kinds of stories of dread and exasperation of mother-in-laws; and I think I know at least one reason: Being the matriarch in a family is a position of authority.   And there’s nothing like the perks of authority to magnify the real character of a person; the real deep-down traits.  –And quite frankly, some people deep down, aren’t all that nice!

But imagine this scene:

Ruth 1

7.  Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

 8.  And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

 9.  "The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.'' Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

Can you imagine!  These young women weren’t just in-laws; they were from an opposing culture.  And here they are openly weeping as Naomi leaves.   How loving that woman must have been!  -How accepting and uplifting!  She must have been a woman of absolutely incredible character.

Something else here: Have you ever noticed that integrity tends to attract integrity?  And that was certainly true here.  One of the greatest proclamations of love in all of Scripture isn’t between a man and wife, but between a daughter and mother-in-law.  It is so powerful that we use it in weddings. 

Naomi urges her daughter-in-laws to turn back to Moab and instead of turning back, Ruth makes this vow:

Ruth 1

16.  But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

 17.  Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.''

It is extraordinary character that gives birth to such extraordinary commitment and love.  The real beauty isn’t that they are such beautiful words, but the fact that Ruth followed through.  That is integrity; that is something a lot of Christians could stand to learn.

And off they go, and for Ruth it is into…

       Extraordinary risk

Here is a young beautiful widow, going into the land of a long-time enemy.  What could be more dangerous than being desirable but having no human rights!  That young woman was completely defenseless. 

Love often comes with extraordinary risk, and sometimes, in recklessness, people pay a heavy price; especially when God is not part of the equation; or falsely rationalized as part of the decision process. 

But in this case, Naomi must have been an extraordinary woman of God, and somehow, a connection between the extraordinary woman and the extraordinary God must have been made for Ruth.  –In following Naomi, Ruth was in effect, following God.  ….And moving in the love of God is always risky, but never reckless.  So they move on to Bethlehem and find…

       Extraordinary opportunity

Naomi probably planned to reach Bethlehem during harvest time.  Their only hope was a very humble contingency of the Jewish Law.  People who were destitute were allowed to follow the harvest-workers and pick up what little scraps of grain that might be left behind.  It was very hard work for very little pay-off.

Imagine if you followed Kevin’s harvester out in the fields and you picked up every kernel of corn you found left behind.  Then you went home and roasted it, or ground it into flour; and that was all you had to eat. 

But in this hopeless and dangerous situation for young Ruth, an incredible opportunity arises.  The field belongs to a kinsman through marriage to Naomi, a man named Boaz.  Boaz just happens to be a man of faith, compassion, and integrity.  (Do you think God might have had something to do with this?)

He sees this young woman who is a stranger in his field.  He inquires and gets a good report about her.  She’s a hard worker, trying to get by.  And oddly enough, her life intersects his.  She is a kinsman through marriage.  And the virtue of integrity plays its part because: Those of integrity take care of family.

So Boaz, moved by compassion and a sense of accountability, takes this young woman under his wing.  He is in a position of authority, and he uses that authority to put a wall of protection around her.  –No worker is to lay a finger on her.  He shows mercy to her, even telling his workers to purposefully leave grain behind for her.

It’s interesting, he doesn’t simply give her grain, but leaves every opportunity for her to engage and gather for herself.  And as a person of character she does well, and feeds herself and Naomi.  Boaz is an illustration of how God works with us all.

But the greatest opportunity was yet to come.

Naomi plays match maker and has her daughter-in-law go to Boaz one evening.  What happened next sounds strange from our cultural perspective and needs a little explaining.  It’s near the end of harvest; Ruth goes to the threshing shed where Boaz is sleeping.  She uncovers his feet from his blanket and slips in, sleeping at his feet.

This was not an act of seduction.   It was a cultural way of saying that she, as a humble servant, is open to marry him.  Within the dictates of the culture, he could marry her as a near, or redeemer-kinsman. 

If a man’s brother or more distant relative died, the next in line could take up the responsibility of caring for that widow by marrying her.  And ultimately, Boaz, as the Kinsman-redeemer, marries Ruth, the “woman of virtue” and delivers her from a very hopeless life.  In this model of the Kinsman redeemer, Boaz is an illustration of what Christ will be for His bride, the church, in a millennium to come.  They move into a direct relationship which in time produces the line of David, who is given the promise of the Messiah. 

You see; the story of Jesus is the story of Ruth.  And if our story is in the story of Jesus; the story of Ruth is the story of any and everyone connected to Jesus.  So…

       WHAT DOES RUTH’S STORY MEAN FOR US?

Ruth’s story illustrates to us:

·         The gift of Grace is free, but not cheap- it came through extraordinary hardship

He healed and comforted until He was exhausted, and still kept going;

He had no home of His own; but made Himself a spiritual home for all who followed;

His only source of strength and authority was the Father;

And for all His trouble, His life ended in the most undignified and painful way… on a cross. 

Just like the story of Ruth: Christ’s Grace came through hardship.  The only way to bring real healing was through extraordinary hardship to One who did not deserve it.

And that raises a serious question for any Christ-follower: Are you greater than your master? 

You and I are called to bring healing to others.  Are we so much greater than our Master that we don’t even have to sacrifice like Him to do it?    …If we do; how are you sacrificing like your Master? 

·         Ruth’s story illustrates: The Messiah is all about extraordinary character and integrity.  He is our standard.

Jesus said by their fruits you will know them; is the influence, consistency, and nature of our influence in life resemble Christ’s?  That is the measure of our integrity.

·         Ruth’s story tells us: There is risk in following

God’s calling is just too big not to have risks!  …But here’s the thing; the test of our faith isn’t the willingness to go out and simply do something “risky.”  -That’s just potential for a big embarrassing mess. 

…The real test of faith isn’t to do something “risky”; but to discern the call of God, in whatever it might be.

Search the Scriptures; wrestle with the Holy Spirit; get the counsel of other saints; take a spiritual view of your circumstances; do some serious praying; be honest with yourself; and if there is a peace inside, it is the greatest possibility that God is calling.  And if He is calling:  It is risky to go…. but it is reckless not to. 

Despite the risk, God leads to…

·         Extraordinary opportunity

…Our greatest opportunity is in having a personal relationship with the God through our “Kinsman Redeemer,”  Jesus Christ. 

       HERE’S A CLOSING THOUGHT

Don’t let anyone fool you with the platitude that following Christ is easy; just a happy road.   It can be very hard by times.

  But when you follow the extraordinary; and He saturates you with the extraordinary; and so, despite the challenges, the outcome of your life story can’t help but BE extraordinary.

Let me leave you with this little clue that you are actually growing in your relationship with Christ: (In fact, take it as a kind of test.)

When your greatest desire moves from wanting the blessings of Jesus to simply wanting Jesus, you are on the way to the truly extraordinary.

Here is a special altar call for today:  Not for those who want something from Jesus, but simply for those who want Jesus.

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