Ruth 1

Study Guide 27: Ruth ISLANDS OF HOPE Overview The story of Ruth takes place in the time of the Judges (Rth 1:1). The book tells a simple, beautiful story, that is even more compelling because of the spiritual darkness of the times. The last chapters of Judges describe the tragic moral and spiritual state of the Jewish people during this era. They had lost track of the Law, perverted the worship of God, and slipped into moral depravity. The Book of Ruth reminds us that even in evil times a godly life is possible. There will always be believers who love and honor God even in sin-saturated societies. Ruth herself is also important genealogically, for she was the great-grandmother of King David. Ruth is also an important reminder that, even though through the Old Testament era the Hebrews were God’ s chosen people, Gentiles like Ruth of Moab could find a personal relationship with the God of Israel. KINSMAN-REDEEMER. The story of Ruth also illustrates the meaning of the He brew word ga’ al, which means to “ play the part of a kinsman.” In Old Testament Law, a near relative had the right to act on behalf of a person in trouble or in danger. When persons or possessions were in the grip of a hostile power, the kinsman might act to redeem (to win release and freedom). The marriage of Boaz to Ruth involved buying back Naomi’ s family land, and meant that their son would carry on Naomi’ s family line. Jesus, by taking on humanity, became our near Kinsman, with the right to redeem you and me.

Commentary A teenager stands before the juvenile court judge. Who’ s to blame? The home? The society? The individual? Questions like these reflect one of the most significant disputes of our day: conflict between the notion that society shapes and determines the individual — and the notion that the individual bears full responsibility for his own acts. Pleas to juries, much of our social legislation, various schools of pyschology and sociology, and the supposed philosophies of political parties, all reflect the conflict between these two views. How much of a person’ s choice is determined by social conditions and how much by the individual’ s free volition is a tangled question. There’ s no doubt that environment and society do have an impact on personality. This is one reason why Israel’ s lifestyle under Law placed so much emphasis on discipline. The people of Israel were to judge and cleanse themselves of sinful patterns which might emerge in the society. The people were jointly responsible to maintain a holy way of life. When righteousness did mark the lifestyle of the nation, the promised blessings included the eradication of social ills. Israel, under Joshua, did maintain a just society. But there was no guarantee that individuals would continue to choose God’ s ways. The nation drifted away — away from trust in God and away from commitment to righteous paths. Israel increasingly became an unjust society, marked by all the sins and insensitivity we see portrayed in Judges 17-21. The society as a whole became ungodly. What then about the individual? Did an unjust society, amplifying the tendency to evil that sin implants in every person, make it impossible for the individual to choose good? The last chapters of Judges might suggest this, for they give us insight into the deterioration of Israel as a whole, through descriptions of two people whose experiences reflect the condition of the nation. But now we turn to a cameo portrait of different individuals, and look into the private lives of Ruth and Boaz, two who lived in that same paganized culture. These individuals, private rather than public personages, reveal something of the freedom that each of us has to choose. You and I live in what is, in many ways, an unjust and an unrighteous society. The standards of our day often reflect values and a morality which are tragically far from the divine ideal. But we, no less than Ruth and Boaz, also have the freedom to choose. Despite the pressures and temptations of our times, we too can live godly lives as we follow closely Jesus Christ, our Lord. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Put the following statement on a chalkboard: “ Influences in our society today make it harder for a young person to live a godly life.” Ask your group to brainstorm, by listing quickly as many factors as they can think of that might lead a person to agree with this belief. (They will think of things like drugs, blatant sex on TV and in movies, pornography, violence, etc.) Then ask: “ What things in our society make it hard sometimes for the rest of us to live godly lives?” Record ideas on the chalkboard. Finally, sketch the court scene with which this chapter opens. Ask: “ In view of the influence of society, how responsible are individuals for their choices?” Let your class discuss this topic, but then move into the lesson to contrast Ruth and Samson, two who lived in the same dark days, but who made vastly different individual choices.

Two Who Chose The Bible gives a surprising amount of space to the days of the Judges. Israel passed some 400 years in Egypt, but the Bible is silent about these centuries. Yet chapter after chapter portray, in depth, the life God’ s people lived during the 300 or so years of Israel’ s deterioration. It follows that God recorded these stories of men and women, as well as the tale of the nation, for an important purpose. Through the inspired record God communicates His message — to the generations of Israelites who lived later, and to us who live today. Ruth (Ruth 1-4). When Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, and two sons to the land of Moab, one of Israel’ s traditional enemies, he was fleeing a famine. He was also leaving his heritage in Israel. During the following 10 years, Elimelech died and Naomi’ s two sons married Moabite wives. Within the decade the two boys also died, and Naomi, hearing that the famine time was past in Israel, determined to return home. At first the two daughters-in-law intended to return to Israel with her. But Naomi urged them to stay in Moab. There seemed no hope of a marriage or a home for them if they returned with Naomi, who was by now a bitter widow. One of the two listened to Naomi’ s urging, and she returned to her people and their gods. But Ruth, the other, made one of the most touching and courageous statements of individual commitment recorded in Scripture. Abandoning her people and culture, Ruth chose to identify herself with Naomi, Naomi’ s then powerless people, and with Naomi’ s God (Rth 1:16-17). The Book of Ruth tells of the return of the two women, and shows the results of Ruth’ s commitment. First, however, we see Ruth’ s commitment expressed in her lifestyle. Even though Ruth was a foreigner, she was recognized as a good woman who had come to take refuge under the wings of the Lord God of Israel (Rth 2:8-13). The story of Ruth continues with her meeting of Boaz, a relative of her dead husband. In Old Testament times, it was customary for a widow who did not return to her father’ s household to marry someone in her dead husband’ s family. The nearest kinsman had this privilege and obligation. The first child of such a second marriage was given the inheritance and name of the first husband, rather than inheriting from the actual father’ s holdings, particularly if the second husband had been previously married and had a family of his own. With Ruth’ s reputation and her faith in God established, Boaz was drawn to this young widow. When, following Naomi’ s instructions, Ruth indicated her willingness to marry Boaz, he agreed to marry her and to take responsibility for Elimelech’ s inheritance. It’ s easy to misunderstand some of the story here, unless we grasp something of the customs of those days. For instance, when Ruth went at night to the threshing floor where Boaz and his men were threshing wheat, and lay down at his feet, no immorality is suggested (Rth 3:6-9). This was a symbolic act expressing Ruth’ s willingness to place herself under the protection of Boaz. Similarly the discussion at the gate, and the taking off of the sandal, reflect Old Testament customs. The city gates were where the older men gathered and where business could be transacted in front of many witnesses. Taking off the sandal and passing it had the same force in Israel in those days as signing a contract has in ours. So Boaz quickly cleared away the legal requirements and married Ruth. The last verses of the Book of Ruth contain a striking revelation: the child born to Ruth and Boaz (and “ given” to Naomi as a grandson) was Obed, the grandfather of Israel’ s greatest and most godly king, David. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN Tell the story of Ruth. Then give your boys and girls crayons and paper to draw the part of the story they liked best. Let the children show and explain their pictures. Then arrange the pictures in the sequence of their appearance in the story. Talk about the choices Ruth made — the choice to go with Naomi, to follow God, and to be a good person when they came to Israel. Ask, “ What if Ruth had not chosen to follow God, and had gone back to her gods?” (Illustrate by removing all the pictures of events that took place after this point.) “ Ruth had to make the right choice for good things to happen to her.” Use this process to focus on the choice that fits your lesson aim: the choice to trust God, the choice of Naomi (a good person, a believer, etc.) as a friend, the choice to do the right thing, etc. By removing the pictures following the choice you help even young ones realize that good things follow good and right choices. But if we make the wrong choices, good things will not follow. Samson (Judges 13-16). Four Old Testament chapters are allotted to Ruth. Four are also devoted to Samson. Very possibly Samson was a contemporary of Ruth’ s son Obed, or of Ruth herself! But what a contrast in the lives of these two who lived during the same era of Old Testament history. Ruth had been born in a pagan home, and later, influenced by Naomi, had chosen to identify herself with Israel and Israel’ s God — even though at the time Israel was an oppressed people. Samson was born in Israel, and his birth was preannounced by an angel. His father and mother were godly believers. Their response to the angel clearly demonstrates that. When Manoah’ s wife told him an angel had spoken to her, Manoah prayed and asked that the angel be sent again to instruct them how to bring up the child. When the angel came, Manoah’ s first words were, “ Now when your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy’ s life and work?” (Judges 13:12) The parents of Samson were taught that their boy was to be dedicated to God from birth, never to drink wine, or cut his hair, or eat any unclean thing. This pattern of life is defined in the Old Testament for those taking a special vow to God. Such persons were called Nazarites. From his birth, Samson knew an ideal environment. The Bible tells us that “ he grew, and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him” (Judges 13:24-25). This promising start soon drifted into a disturbing pattern of life. Samson, for all his advantages, was a selfish and sensual man. He was not motivated by a concern for God’ s people; in fact, the Lord had to use his passion for a Philistine woman to move Samson to act against his people’ s enemies (see Judges 14:1-4). Engaged to the girl he desired, Samson was tricked into the loss of a bet with guests at the wedding feast. Angry because the girl had betrayed the answer of the riddle over which he’ d wagered, Samson paid — then disappeared in hot anger (Judges 14:19). His bride was given to another man! Furious, Samson took revenge by burning the Philistines’ fields and by waging one-man guerrilla warfare against Israel’ s oppressors. Instead of leading his people to throw off Philistine domination, Samson continued to act alone, being moved only by his thirst for revenge. Ultimately Samson’ s own people were forced to deliver him to their enemies, or face destruction! Samson went with them. But when the Israelites left, Samson broke off the bonds that held him and, grabbing a donkey’ s jawbone, used it as a weapon to kill a thousand enemies (Judges 15:10-15). Samson was personally invulnerable. He possessed a supernatural physical strength so unnatural that the lords of the Philistines realized there must be some secret source — and perhaps some way to neutralize it. Samson’ s strength became his weakness: his dominance over others was based on physical prowess alone. But his weakness was the domination of his own personality by the desires of his flesh. Samson became involved with a prostitute named Delilah, who was bribed by the Philistines to seek the source of Samson’ s power. Judges 16:1-31 tells how Samson foolishly betrayed his secret — his long hair, which had never been cut and which symbolized his Nazarite commitment. Once Samson’ s hair was cut, he was easily taken by the Philistines, blinded, and forced to grind grain at a mill in a Gaza prison. Much later, the Philistines gathered to praise their god, Dagon, for giving them Samson, “ the one who laid waste our land” (Judges 16:24). Samson was brought in to be ridiculed. Leaning against the two middle pillars which bore the weight of the great temple, Samson, his hair now regrown, prayed for strength. With a mighty heave, Samson displaced the pillars, and the temple crumpled, killing Samson and about 3,000 of the enemy. Samson had judged Israel for 20 years. Yet he is the only one of all the judges of whom it is not recorded that he brought rest to the land. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Divide into teams. Each team represents a group evaluating people for employment in an important leadership role. Each team is to consider family background, moral character, ability to work with others on a team, and past accomplishments. Each team is to first discuss what weight to give each of these factors in their evaluation. Using Ruth 1-4 and Judges 13-16 as source material, each team should work up a profile of the two candidates — Ruth and Samson. After deciding which person to hire, the teams should then go back and reevaluate their original weighing of factors. What is the most important thing to consider in evaluating another person?

The Family Factor: Deuteronomy 11:18-21The portraits of Ruth and Samson in the days of the Judges focus our attention on another important issue. In each setting, we gain fascinating insight into families. Ruth, brought up in a pagan home, turned from her upbringing to identify with Naomi, Naomi’ s people, and Naomi’ s God. Samson, child of a godly home, dedicated to the Lord, lived for himself. Even in his death, Samson’ s primary motive was selfish. “ Strengthen me,” Samson prayed, “ and let me get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28). What can we conclude from the record? First, environment alone does not determine us for either good or evil. Neither being members of a sinful society nor a pagan family fixes our future. There is an element of freedom and of individual responsibility that must be accepted by each one of us. We cannot blame our parents for our choices. We cannot blame our friends. We cannot blame the moral state of the society in which we live. A bad environment may make it more difficult to choose the right. But the individual still remains responsible for his acts. In the same way, a godly environment is no guarantee that one will choose wisely. We can take no comfort in our parents’ faith. We need to make our own commitment lest we too wander from God. Second, there seems to be an interplay in the era of the Judges between three factors rather than just two. It’ s not just the influence of society versus the individual’ s freedom to choose. There is a family factor as well. Judges and Ruth show us that even in a corrupt society there were godly men and women, and godly families. It also shows compellingly the fact that believers need to understand how to share their faith with the next generation! Samson’ s parents, for all their personal piety, were not effective in sharing their faith with their son in any life-shaping way. Naomi, despite her unhappiness, communicated compellingly with her pagan daughter-in-law, Ruth. How can parents, whose own relationship with God may be strong, communicate effectively with their sons and daughters? The Old Testament, reinforced by the New, suggests these principles: Parental piety is a prerequisite (Deuteronomy 11:18). God’ s command to adults is to “ fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds.” This does not mean that a parent must be perfect, an “ ideal” believer who never makes a mistake and never sins. In stead, it means that the parent’ s faith must mean more than Sunday expression; more than giving lip service to God and to His Word. Knowing a great deal about the Bible is not stressed here. What is important is that the parent be a person who himself or herself responds to God’ s Word. The parent needs to be building the messages of God into his or her own heart and soul. God’ s revelation is to shape the attitudes and values and behaviors of believers, as well as our beliefs. Only a person who is growing in the Lord will be able to communicate his or her faith to others compellingly. Intimate relationship provides a context (Deuteronomy 11:19). The Scriptures focus on the privilege of communicating God and His ways to each new generation in the home. “ Teach them to your children.” Israel’ s life style did include certain institutions, such as the cities of refuge and the levitical cities. But there were no educational institutions. There was no Sunday School for the nurture of a new generation, and no colleges for their instruction in the faith. The home, with its intimate and warm personal relationships, was the context in which God’ s Word was to be communicated. The rest of Scripture shows us why the home is so important. Faith is best communicated when there is a love relationship between the teacher and learner. Where there is opportunity to observe the life, and participate in shared experiences, the values and the attitudes, the emotions that are associated with actions, all these are learned along with beliefs. In the context of warm relationships there is a chance for the communicator to explain in words his or her inner feelings and thoughts. In this whole process, faith’ s lifestyle is not just talked about: it is modeled, incarnated in the life of the older believer. When the relationship is a continuing one, extending over the growing years, and not simply one of infrequent contact, faith’ s lifestyle can be gradually developed. The critical relational factors shown throughout Scripture seem to be these: loving, being and staying close, sharing, communicating openly, and of course, living by one’ s commitment to God and His Word. Somehow Samson’ s parents, for all their personal piety, were not successful in shaping a godly son. And Naomi, for all her disappointments in life, was able to influence Ruth to love her, and then to love her God. Explicit teaching in daily life (Deuteronomy 11:19). The Deuteronomy passage makes it clear that we are to teach God’ s Word. It also shows us when and how. We are to teach by talking about God “ when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.” The stress here is not laid on what we would call formal teaching — teaching with a teacher, a curriculum, a classroom, a particular time of day. The emphasis in the Bible is on informal teaching: on using God’ s Word to explain and interpret experiences we share in daily life. The other morning a conflict flared up between my youngest son and my daughter. He said something thoughtless that hurt her feelings. After I spent 10 minutes of quieting and helping her, my son was angry with me. He felt she had taken his remark wrongly, and so it was her fault. I’ d been altogether too comforting to suit him! It took about half an hour to work things through with him, and help him see that his words had been thoughtless, and that he had really spoken in anger, selfishly. It took even more time to come to the place where forgiveness could be asked and given. Then we talked more about forgiveness, and that for the Christian it means that a confessed sin is truly gone. God’ s promise is “ I will forgive their wickedness, and will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12). Later that day our youngest was going over to play with a friend with whom he’ d had some conflict. Didn’ t it bother him to go over there again? “ No,” he said. “ When you’ ve forgiven someone, you forget.” It is this kind of teaching of God’ s ways, using His Word to interpret and guide in daily experience, that is the key to effective Christian nurture. It was this kind of teaching which might have helped Israel to avoid the dark days of the Judges — if only the adults had first made their own choice to be faithful to God. How good to know that when you and I trust God, and seek to obey Him, we can communicate our faith effectively to those who are near us, to those whom we love. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN In a minilecture cover the Deuteronomy principles of effective communication. Then list the three faith factors seen in this unit on the board: family, society, individual choice. None of these determines the others; each factor is important. Seated in a circle ask each member of your group to talk for two minutes on the role of one of these factors in his or her own life.

Observations on the Text Rth 1:1. Naomi’ s family lived in Bethlehem, which means “ house of bread.” Be cause of the apostasy of the age of Judges, God’ s blessing was withdrawn. There was no food in Israel even in the “ house of bread.” Rth 2:8-9. Boaz warned Ruth against gleaning grain in another’ s field, and explained, “ I have told the men not to touch you.” In Israel in the days of the Judges a woman was in real danger of rape! Rth 2:11. Boaz said to Ruth, “ I’ ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband.” We can be sure that when we do good, our good reputations will spread. Rth 2:20. Ruth had not gone to Boaz’ s field by design. When Naomi heard his name, and that he had been kind to Ruth, she saw the hand of God, and praised the Lord. Naomi was an unhappy person. How good when we are unhappy to look for and to recognize the good hand of our God. Rth 4:15. When Ruth gave birth, the women of the community encouraged Naomi. “ Your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Nothing could replace Naomi’ s sons, of course. But what each of us needs is people who love us. Such love can make a person better to us than our relatives.

Teaching Guide Prepare Read Ruth quickly, and write down five words that seem to you to best describe her.

Explore

1. How difficult is it today to make godly choices? Launch your group time with this question, following the discussion ideas developed in the “ link-to-life” activity above.
2. Or give a minilecture reviewing the conditions that existed during the era of the Judges, when the story of Ruth takes place.

Expand

1. Divide your group members into teams of four or five persons. They can work with a simple T-shaped chart, comparing and contrasting Samson and Ruth. Or let each team conduct an “ executive search” and evaluate Samson and Ruth as candidates for employment. See the “ link-to-life” idea above.
2. Or raise the question: “ Do godly parents always produce godly children?” Let half the group look at Samson’ s origins and character, and half look at Ruth’ s. Return to the whole group to discuss findings, and draw conclusions.
3. Give a minilecture on factors in family communication that can influence the faith and commitment of children. Stress the fact that family, society, and individual choice are all important influences in personal spiritual development.

Apply

1. If your group members are parents of young children, share the story with which this unit concludes. Ask group members to share similar experiences that illustrate how they have used God’ s Word to guide their boys and girls in daily life situations.
2. Or ask group members to share about the impact of family, society, or personal choice on their own personality and Christian experience.