Last year, I decided to study the book of Ruth. I'd been having a hard time getting into the Word and I knew that there were hidden truths in Ruth that I had yet to discover. It was my first independent, personal, and in-depth study on a book in the Bible and it was a very special time. In fact, I can't help but wish I could go back, just to experience it for the first time all over again!
I once read a paragraph from a commentary on Ruth which, for a long time, gave me a kind of skewed perspective of it. The commentary said that Ruth was just a nice romance story, with no great meaning or purpose. This couldn't be farther from the truth!
What I share here are my personal notes. I'm not an authority on the book and I'm sure there are more profound commentaries available. (I read this one as I was doing my own study, which gave me clarity on a few verses that I was having trouble with; this is another one which I'm reading now.) But if it can aid anyone, even one person, then here goes:
- A Study on Ruth (Part 1)
I covered the first chapter of Ruth over the course of several days, so feel free to break down this post however you want. This will be a four-part series with each post covering one chapter of Ruth.
A Study on Ruth
- Ruth took place in the days when the judges ruled
- Talmudic tradition says it was written by Samuel (the Prophet)
- The time of Ruth was a time of warfare, moral decay, violence, etc.
Ruth 1:1-2
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
Famine in the land of Israel - why should there have been a famine in the land of God's people? This seems to me like there may have been a spiritual famine going on, resulting in an actual famine - perhaps this was a physical manifestation of what was happening spiritually.
Elimelech (meaning: God is King) takes his wife and two sons and goes to sojourn (sojourn: to stay somewhere temporarily) in the land of Moab.
Moab was a pagan city. The Moabites worshiped false gods. Why would Elimelech, an Israelite man, take his family to live there? Did the Lord send him there? Or was this an unwillingness to endure chastening - thereby causing this man to go running to a place that could offer him comfort and reprieve from the trials?
Moab, according to the commentary I read, serves as a picture of the world. Elimelech wanted to provide for his family but his decision to sojourn in this worldly, sinful place is unjustifiable - if the Lord didn't send him there, that is. Our sojourning into the realm of sin and rebellion, even if temporary in our eyes, will always have consequences.
Ruth 1:3-5
And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Moab, according to Genesis 19:37, was the tribe birthed out of the incestuous relations between Lot and one of his daughters. After Elimelech's death, his sons - Mahlon (meaning "sick") and Chilion ("pining") - take Moabite women as their wives. Wives of the world - wives out of this cursed lineage. God has always been clear throughout history that His children are not to marry "outside the camp." It seems that Mahlon and Chilion disobeyed this mandate. Perhaps their disobedience resulted in their early demises.
Ruth 1:6-7
Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
Naomi arose after hearing in Moab that the Lord had visited his people and provided them food. The Israelites, it seems, endured their affliction and were blessed for it. Naomi, a backslidden woman abiding in a worldly place, hears of their prosperity and decides to return. I see a picture of the prodigal son in Naomi - she goes to partake of the comforts the world and it leaves her broken and grief-stricken. She considers, as the prodigal son did, that her current circumstances are of want and loneliness. Why should she suffer further? She will return to the land of her fathers and there at least she will be provided for.
Her daughters in law seem willing enough at first. Ruth (meaning "friendship," amongst other things) is the widow of Mahlon and Orphah ("stubbornness") is Chilion's widow. The two go with Naomi with no cited reluctance.
Further notes -
- the goodness of the Lord is spoken about in all nations, even the sinful ones such as Moab.
- "wherefore she went out of the place where she was" - a strange land, a place of grief, a place of forsaking... out of these places God draws us.
Ruth 1:8-9
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
It occurred to me that both Orpah and Ruth lived ten years in the home of Naomi and her sons - this means they were married into an Israelite household and were probably expected to serve in a manner that complied with the Israelite customs and behaviors. No doubt they heard much about the God of the Israelites and His laws and ordinances. The Bible doesn't say if they forsook their own gods or if Mahlon and Chilion allowed them to do as they pleased in this area, but of interesting note is the fact that neither marriage brought forth fruit: they were married ten years and yet neither couple had children.
Whatever the case, there was clearly some affection shared between the three women, as they all wept when Naomi spoke these words.
Ruth 1:10-14
And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
Here it is revealed that Naomi believes the hand of the Lord has gone out against her. She is being drawn out of the world and yet, a part of her is still bitter against Him for the losses she has incurred therein. She urges the girls to remain in the land of their people and to find new husbands. Orpah, at first, joins in Ruth's declaration that they will stay with her and return to the land of her people. But as Naomi speaks further, Orpah is swayed - for Naomi has nothing more to offer her. This displays a kind of covetousness in Orpah. It reveals the shallowness of her devotion to Naomi. Naomi has nothing to offer her therefore she will remain in the world where she is comfortable, where she can go on serving her own gods her own way. This is not true devotion.
At stark contrast is Ruth's response. She clave, or clung, to Naomi. Nothing Naomi could say would sway her: she held fast.
Looked up other examples of the word "cleave" in my Bible's concordance; these were the Scriptures cited:
- Joshua 23:8 - "But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day."
- Acts 11:23 - Here, Barnabas is exhorting the believers in Antioch to "with purpose of heart, cleave unto the Lord."
- Romans 12:9 - "...cleave to that which is good."
- Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:5 - "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
- Cleave to the Lord
- Cleave to that which is good
- (For a man) Cleave to your wife (and vice versa, obviously)
Ruth 1:15-18
And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
Naomi entreats her one last time: look at your sister in law. Consider the weight of the decision you are making. Naomi knows it is a momentous one. Oh, but the beauty of Ruth's response!
She says, in essence: "Don't keep me from following you and don't ask me to leave you. For where you go I will go; where you stay, I will stay; your people will be my people and your God will be my God."
This is a picture of the adoption spoken of in Romans. This is an example of what it means to cling to the Lord! You will follow Him no matter the cost; you will not be put off or deterred. Where He leads, you will follow. Where He stays you will stay. You will follow Him unto the death and even death will not part you!
It reminds me of Romans 8:38-39:
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Ruth was steadfast in her devotion.
Steadfast -
- fixed in direction
- steadily directed
- firm in person, resolute, faith, attachment
- very devoted, loyal to a person, unchanging
- to be alert
- to be courageous
- strong
- establish, fortify, harden, increase, prevail, strengthen
- make strong
Ruth 1:19-22
So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
Naomi's grief and bitterness is very evident in these verses. She has been drawn back to the land of her fathers and yet she has these things against the Lord which she is not willing to give up just yet. Her loss was great, it is true. She left Israel a wife and a mother. She came back a widow, and a childless one at that. But I don't think she fully realized the restoration that God was bringing about. She came out of the world but instead of praising the Lord for drawing her out, she is accusing Him of taking everything away from her.
We may know a few Naomis in our lives. We may even find traces of her within ourselves. Here, I am reminded of the Israelites when God brought them out of Egypt. Their praise was short-lived; they soon took to complaining and accusing God of everything that was taken away from them. Do we do this too? When God takes us out of the world, do we complain of the comforts that we've been deprived of, not recognizing the comfort of all comforts that the Lord wishes to give us?
I am convicted as I write this for I have been doing this very thing as of late. I have been magnifying my losses over the blessing of my salvation. The gift of my adoption has grown dim as I've fretted over the afflictions I've undergone. Lord, give me a heart like Ruth's - a heart that is steadfast in the face of loss, a heart that cleaves unto You even in the darkest pain.
Reflections
I want to cleave unto the Lord the way Ruth clave unto Noemi: immovably, steadfastly, lovingly, desperately, devotedly.
Verse to memorize:
"But cleave unto the Lord your God as ye have done unto this day."
Joshua 23:8
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