You can’t make this story up. The story of Ruth is way too far-fetched to be manmade. The likely author of the book of Ruth is Samuel, who was a contemporary with Ruth as both lived in the days when judges ruled. There is just no way Samuel would come up with the idea on his own to include Ruth the Moabite as the hero of Jewish history.
Matthew underscores the importance of Ruth. The story of Ruth practically opens the New Testament when Matthew 1:3-6 cover the genealogy from Ruth’s story and mention Ruth by name.
Samuel’s own sons who were set up to be the likely heroes for Israel, failed and Ruth was shining like the brightest star. No way would Samuel or any other Jewish writer “write in” a Moabite woman like Ruth to be King David’s great grandmother, when Moabites were cursed to the tenth generation.
Samuel would not have come up with the idea that Ruth the Moabite woman would become the great grandmother to king David, the greatest and most important king in the history of Israel. He would not have been able to “win friends and influenced people” by writing that Ruth would become in the linage of the awaited Messiah. Ruth is the heritage for all the cursed of the earth to be redeemed by Jesus Christ. This story and all these events are all orchestrated by the hand of God.
This book of the Bible, Ruth underscores the providence of God. Ruth stands alongside, Tamar, Rehab and Bathsheba as unlikely ancestors of Jesus. The book of Ruth is a redemption story of Ruth and, her mother-in-law Naomi. Even beyond that the story of Ruth is an account of the redemption of ultimately our entire human race.
The setting of the book of Ruth is the period of the Judges. There was a famine and that is why this landowner Elimelek of Bethlehem traveled to Moab with his family.
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. (Ruth 1:1-2)
The book of Ruth begins by introducing Elimelek from Bethlehem. His name means the Lord is my king. Elimelek was married to Naomi. Her name means pleasant. This couple are referred to as Ephrathites. This term for distinguishing Bethlehem was used by Micah in foretelling where the Messiah would be born. It was from Bethlehem-Ephrata that the Messiah was to come (see Micah 5:2) Ephrath (Bethlehem) is mentioned in Genesis as the place they were on the way to from Bethel when Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.
Elimelek and Naomi left Bethlehem for Moab with their two sons because there was a famine in the land. They went to Moab east of the Dead Sea to escape the famine.
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. (Ruth 1:4-5)
Tragedy struck for Naomi in Moab. First of all, her husband Elimelek died. Both of her sons married Moabite women. That is where Ruth comes into the story of salvation history.
Then after the death of Elimelek both of her sons died. She became a destitute widow in a foreign land. By that time Naomi had been in Moab for ten years and the famine was over in Bethlehem. Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem.
It is important to know that Ruth was a Moabite, and that Moabites were a cursed people to the Israelites and Naomi’s people in Bethlehem. Why were the Moabites cursed? They descended from Moab who was the son of Lot (Abraham’s cousin). Moab was born after Lot escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and his daughters got him drunk to have a union of Lot and his daughter. (Genesis 19:30-37) The descendants of Moab lived east of the dead sea.
In Numbers 22-25 there is an account of how the king of Moab, Balak, paid Balam to curse Israel then seduced the Israelites to marry Moabite women and worship Moabite gods. The Moabites were not to enter the assembly of the Lord to the tenth generation. (Deuteronomy 23:3-6)
We see the sovereignty of God in difficulties. The reason we see the Lord at work in Naomi’s difficult situation that made her a broken woman in despair is because we are looking back on them. We know the whole story of how this was the hand of God working beautifully in the life of Naomi. Think of Naomi in her situation leaving Moab to return home and you could understand that at the time Naomi could only see the bitter circumstances.
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. (Ruth 1:6-7)
There was a glimmer of hope for Naomi. The famine in Bethlehem that took Naomi to Moab is over and she heard the Lord was providing food for her people. The story of redemption is quietly unfolding without a lot of fanfare. She made the preparations to return to Bethlehem. With her two daughters she set out to return to her own people.
Naomi tells the two daughters-in-law to return or stay in Moab and remarry there. Both Orpah and Ruth had shown kindness to Naomi, but she knows they must do what is best for them. Returning home to Moab is the only practical way Ruth and Orpah can get on with their lives.
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye, and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.” (Ruth 1:8-10)
Naomi tells Orpha and Ruth why they should return to Moab and not journey on to Bethlehem with her. There is seemingly no future for these young women if they go on to Bethlehem with Naomi. There was a tearful goodbye. They had been through so much together and become family, but it was best for them to return home.
But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!” (Ruth 1:11-13)
Soon after they set out for Bethlehem Naomi tells her two daughters-in-law to return to Moab and remarry there. Orpah kissed her mother-in law goodbye. Naomi was right. It made sense to return to their home and remarry in Moab and begin their life again there.
14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” (Ruth 1:14-15)
Ruth was going to do something extraordinary. She was going to faithfully stay beside Naomi come what may. This Moabite woman said that the God of Ruth, who was the God of Elimeleck and yes the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be her God. The Israelites would now be her people. She is faithful to the very end.
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. (Ruth 1:16-18)
Ruth shows kindness to Naomi. Naomi felt the bitterness of the loss of her husband and two sons. She had the faithful support of Ruth. Naomi would never have to experience her bitterness alone. Not as long as Ruth lived.
Last night two groups were going to go for carol singing. As the one group divided into two one of the carolers jokingly told the leader of the second group, we will go with your group, were you go I will go and your people will be my people. He loosely quoted Ruth in a humorous way, and everyone knew it was from the story from the book of Ruth. This verse of faithfulness is immediately the recognizable line from the story of Ruth. This saying of Ruth has become the proverbial saying of faithfulness.
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” 22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. (Ruth 1:19-22)
Naomi’s name meant pleasant, but now as she returns to Bethlehem after the famine, death of her husband and two sons she asked her people of Bethlehem to call her Mara, which means bitter. Naomi has been through extreme grief and suffering. She can only say the Lord Almighty has afflicted her. She can’t yet see what we can see reading the story in the context of the whole Bible and how she is a blessed person.
As they arrived from Moab to Bethlehem it was barley harvest. Ruth did not know all that would mean. Yes, the famine was over, but much more. It was the providence of God. It was what would take her afflicted and empty life and make it full. Something amazing was about to happen in the lives of Ruth and Naomi.
As the next chapters unfold, we will see that not only did Ruth show kindness to Naomi and faith in God, but Ruth will experience the grace of God. Ruth’s life is about to become an object lesson of how God can redeem anyone.
Ruth was a cursed Moabite woman who was redeemed and became most blessed. Her son born in Bethlehem became the great-great-great grandson of Abraham. She became the great grandmother of King David. She was in the family genealogy of Mary and Jesus. She experienced personal redemption and was part of the greatest redemption story of all history.
We were all cursed to the tenth generation and experienced redemption through the cross, having faith in Jesus Christ. No one could make up the story of our redemption. It is only possible through the sovereign hand of God.
