Study of Book of Ruth by Kavitha
The preacher took us through the book of Ruth in the Old Testament of the Bible to show how God orchestrates greater plan through day-to-day events in ordinary people’s life and how He works in the life of the faithful.
Judge 21:5 tells us that there were no kings in Israel those days and people did whatever they wanted to do. But that was not God’s plan for them. God wanted them to live an exemplary life before other nations and portray His love to them; to be His people.
This state in Judges is one of the many we see in Bible where people go through a cycle of events: Israel rebels against God who gives them over to enemies, the people cry out and repent, God delivers them and they after sometime they forget His blessings and goodness and go back to sinning.
Ruth 1 starts with mention of the famine in Israel that caused Naomi’s family moved from the promised land to Moab which was an idolatrous nation. Ruth 1:3-5 mentions that the husband died and so did two of his sons who had married Moabite women. Three childless widows remained in the family.
In Ruth 1:6, the family heard there was no famine in Israel. Noami who was bitter against the Lord by then, decided to go back there and send daughters-in-law to their parents. One of the daughters-in-law, Orpah, went back but Ruth did not. The knowledge of God changed her and she dint want to go back. In Ruth 1:16-17 she tells Naomi that your God is my God. She vehemently refused to go back.
Contrast this with Orpah. The knowledge of the true living God did not impact her and she went back. Ruth’s faith in God was real and also her commitment to her mother-in-law. Israelites hated foreigners but she still wanted to go there. She risked everything to follow God. So we know from verse 18 that Naomi didn’t stop her anymore.
Despite losing everything in the foreign land, Naomi had the courage to come back. In verse 22, they came to Bethlehem. In Ruth 2:1, Boaz is introduced. In Ruth 2:5, Boaz asked about Ruth since a woman was to be protected by a man. In Verse 8, he calls her daughter and offers protection to her. Per Leviticus 23:22, land owners must leave gleanings from the crop for the poor. Ruth is amazed to be treated so well as he protects her and instructs his workers to leave grain she can glean. In 2:12, he blessed Ruth. She has no man but she is under the direct protection of God himself. The preacher said this as a word of encouragement to the women who feel there is no one for them because they are single or widowed.
We see that Ruth gleaned 13 kg of barley in a single day and continued to work hard for seven weeks. Leviticus 25:25 prescribes the duties of a kinsman/guardian redeemer. In Ruth 3:1-6 we see that the women took initiative with Ruth lying down near Boaz’s feet to claim protection from him as he was their relative. Boaz acknowledged her way as a virtuous woman (Ruth 3:11) since she came for the proper way of redemption instead of going to younger men to find favour. In chapter 4, Boaz talked to people who may come forward to redeem the woman and when none agreed, he married her (chapter 5). Obed, their son, was the grandfather of David and David was the ancestor of Jesus, the Savior.
Matthew 1:5 provides the genealogy of Christ and we see how a Moabite woman entered the bloodline of the Messiah. Also, Boaz’s mother was Rahab the prostitute who trusted in the Lord and helped Israel defeat its enemy.
We see here two foreign women who risked everything to follow God. Their faith is marvelous and that is why God made them part of His bloodline.
Orpah is an example to people who come to church and know God but still do whatever they want. Naomi an example of those who had walked away from God but had the courage to come back and accept His forgiveness and got rescued. She was blessed with a daughter better then seven sons and got a son through Ruth.
Ruth worshipped idols earlier but later came to love God more than anything else. She was hardworking, humble, and submissive to mother-in-law. It is not mere coincidence that after Proverbs 31 where the ideal woman is described, the book of Ruth comes to show that such a woman can actually exist. The Lord touched her womb when she married Boaz and subsequent became the great grandmother of David. If you leave everything to follow God, you lose nothing. Infact, God blesses you exceptionally.
Boaz was a generous, kind, thoughtful and law-abiding man. He did not hesitate to marry a foreigner because of her faith in God for which she left her family and land of birth.
How many men and women are there who will leave everything but not God? Not take decisions based on worldly wisdom? Not only marriage but other decisions too! Do young people have the great courage to accept someone from another faith who came to follow Christ because of great faith? The preacher shared her example of marriage where her parents asked her to leave her house because she wanted to marry a believer instead of a groom they chose for her. She asked God how much can she could lose for Him. God said He lost His son for her and then God helped her and the issues got sorted.
Can you live a life completely surrendered to God like Boaz and Ruth? God blessed them and raised His family through them. Will you take the risk of losing everything except God?
Sermon reflection by Shubha