In the book of Ruth we meet a Hebrew family, from Bethlehem – Elimelech and Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion. As far as when this event took place, we read in the first verse that it was during the period of time when Judges ruled God’s people. We don’t know which judge was in power at this time, but we can conclude it was one of the earlier ones because we find that Boaz (Ruth’s future husband) was the son of Rahab (Matthew_1:5) the woman who helped two Israelite spies escape from Jericho (Joshua_2)

A famine came upon the land, so food was scarce. During this period of history, it seems that God used famine to discipline his people, and would remove it when the Israelites turned back to Him (See Deut._11:13-17). Elimelech decided to move his family to the land of Moab until the situation at home improved. This country was west and just south of the Dead Sea (also called the Salt Sea). Its people worshipped several idol gods, the main one being Chemosh.

The ancestor of the Moabites was Moab – the son of Lot (Abraham’s nephew) and an incestuous relationship with his oldest daughter (Genesis_19:30-38). Since they were descended from the family of Abraham, their physical appearance was much like the Hebrews, and the language they spoke was practically the same. This later fact we know because of the writing on the Moabite Stone, erected by the Moabite king Mesha about 850 BC. It was discovered when Dibon was excavated in 1868. The city of Dibon (also called Dibon-Gad) is mentioned in Numbers 32:34 and in other passages in the Old Testament.

At some point in time, Elimelech died and left Naomi a widow with two sons. They grew up and both found wives who were native to that land.  Mahlon married Ruth and Chilion married Orpha. After ten years of marriage; however, Mahlon and Chilion died without having produced any children.

Naomi was now a childless widow with no one to take care of her. To be in this condition was about as low as one could get. Since she had no family left, she would have to depend on the generosity of strangers. She made what seemed like the most logical decision; she would go back home to Bethlehem. Telling her two daughters-in-law to return to their parents’ home, she prepared for the long trek ahead of her. From what we know, the trip would have taken between a week and ten days. The number of miles might not have been that great, but it would require crossing the Jordan River and traveling seven to ten days. Another trial of the journey is that it would have been almost totally uphill – over 2,000 feet in elevation – before reaching her goal.

Orpha did relent and go home, but Ruth stubbornly refused. Her speech to her mother-in-law has been read at countless weddings over the years. It is a profound declaration of ultimate love and devotion that one person could give another.

“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. 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.” (Ruth_1:16-17).

Together the two women made the journey. What hardships they faced on their travels we are not told, but they finally made it to Bethlehem. When they came into the city they caused a great deal of curiosity among the people. In some way Naomi must have changed in her appearance in the past 10-plus years, because some said, “Is this Naomi?”

She replied to them by saying, “But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” She would find out – in time – that she was not as empty as she thought. Her foreign daughter-in-law would fill the emptiness more than she could imagine.

It was the time of the barley harvest so Ruth asked Naomi’s permission to go out into the fields and see if she could find someone who would let her glean behind the reapers. This practice was from a commandment God had given the Israelites back in Deuteronomy_24:19-20. The farmers were not allowed to harvest the corners of their fields, and whatever was dropped in the process of gathering the crops, was to be left on the ground. This was making provision for the stranger (traveler), fatherless, and the widows.

As it turned out, Ruth found herself gleaning in the field of Boaz – a “near kinsman” of Naomi’s late husband. He noticed her and gave her some special instructions. He told her to not go to another field but to stay close to his own servant women until the end of the harvest. Also she was to eat with his people and drink from the water he provided. He also admonished the reapers to not touch her, but for them to drop extra grain in her path. In Ruth_2:17 we find that, after beating out the barley, she wound up with about a bushel and a half.

When she told Naomi who owned the field in which she had gleaned, her mother-in-law saw an opportunity to gain back the land of her late husband. She remembered the law God gave concerning childless widows (Deuteronomy_25:5-10) and decided to see if she could arrange it so that Boaz would take Ruth as his wife. This would also give Ruth the security that she would need in the future. The plan was pretty bold, but Ruth was obedient to Naomi and told her she would do as she said.

Naomi told Ruth to wash herself and put on her best garment. Once that was done, she was to go to the threshing floor (where the men were winnowing the barley) and stay hidden until evening when the men would finish for the day. Once the time arrived, she was to go to where Boaz was sleeping, uncover his feet, and lie down. She was told that Boaz would take it from there.

Ruth did as she was instructed, and at midnight Boaz woke up startled to find a woman at his feet. As he had been told, she asked him to take her under his wing because he was a near relative of her late husband and father-in-law. Boaz must have been a bit older than Ruth because he praised her for following God’s law for the security of Naomi and did not go after a younger man “whether rich or poor.”

There was one glitch in the plan; however, another man was actually a closer relative than Boaz. He told her not to be concerned. He would approach that man to see if he would fulfill his obligation to raise children to Elimelech. “But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives” (Ruth_3:13).

The next day, with ten elders of the city as witnesses, Boaz spoke to the other relative. He explained how someone needed to redeem the inheritance of Elimelech and marry the widow Ruth, in order to raise up children for the lineage of the family. The man explained, “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). To seal the deal, he did what was customary during that time in Israel. In verse 8, we read that he took of his sandal and gave it to Boaz, and that became a binding contract.

In verses 11 and 12, the ten elders pronounced a blessing on Boaz and Ruth. They told him:

“The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman” (Ruth_4:11-12).

Boaz and Ruth were married and soon after Ruth became pregnant. When the child was born, she brought him to Naomi. By law he would take the place of her sons who died in Moab. He was named by Naomi’s neighbor women said of the child, “May he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him” (Ruth_4:15).

Then the women named him Obed. This small child would one day have a son and name him Jesse, and Jesse’s son would be one of the most recognizable names in the Bible…David. Read Matthew_1:5-6 and Luke_3:31-32

© Jeanetta Watkins