Ruth 1 - 4 (7th April) - Alvin

The book of Ruth is an interesting book and quite a different book compared to those we have been reading thus far.

First of all, my apologies for this late blog entry. Took me a while to have something to write as it seemed very difficult to write about a book that is so simple.

You will notice that the Book of Ruth is a very mundane book compared to previous books we have read, where we see God speaking face to face with Job, Abraham, Moses, Joshua etc. There’s no war going on or great miracles of God being performed in the entire book of Ruth. Even the book of Esther (which has no mention of God) has a theme about God’s salvation for the Jews. The book of Ruth however just seemed like a very nice story of a good daughter in law and a romantic love story between Ruth and Boaz.

To really understand this book better thus requires us to have a little background knowledge of the context of the story. It begins by telling us that Ruth existed in the later times of the Judges, Ruth 1:1. When we read Judges 21:25 it says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” It’s only in this context that the story really makes a lot more sense.

In a time when people live their lives not according to the laws of God but according to their own moral judgments, we see an amazing story of 3 people who decided to live according to the laws of God.

The book of Ruth isn’t only about Ruth, but it’s really about the relationships between Ruth, Naomi and Boaz (the Ruth less man before marriage…heh)

In the Jewish custom, the widows are the poorest of the people. This is true even to the New Testament days when there are special instructions for the churches to care for the widows. We also know that our God is a defender of the widows and the Father to the fatherless. This is so because when a man passed away, his inheritance is not passed on to the wife but to the nearest male next of kin. It was because of this that God instructed special laws such as the allowance of the poor to glean the fields and the next male kin to be the kinsman redeemer in order to care for the widows and the poor.

Naomi was a widow. So she really was very poor. And she was old, so it’s very unlikely that anyone will redeemer her (ie to marry her). Yet despite knowing this, Ruth decided to still to follow Naomi and remain loyal and faithful to her, and to care for her. She has every right like Orpah to care for her own self and leave Naomi and returned to her homeland, yet she made this astounding proclaimation: "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. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

Now pause to think, this is amazing on two folds, one, in a time when people do as they deemed fit, here comes a woman who did the RIGHT thing, even though it was in a trying circumstance. Second, what’s so special about Naomi that Ruth wanted to follow her and her God?

We do not read much about Naomi in this book, but I believe it is safe to say that she must have been a great testimony so as to have Ruth decide to care for her and to follow her and her God.

Are we such testimonies of our God that people will follow us and our God?

And this was so not just for Naomi, but also for Ruth and Boaz. We see in the lives of Ruth and Boaz that they have a good reputation before men, a living testimony.

Ruth 2:11-12, Ruth 3:11 and Naomi was certain that Boaz will keep his word about redeeming Ruth if the next of kin won’t, I guess it is safe to say that Boaz at least had a reputation of one that keeps his words. (Ruth 3:18)

We also see that he gave special instructions to his servants to make sure that Ruth is not harassed or embarrassed but to allow her to glean and made provision so that she could glean more. Ruth on the other hand worked hard from dawn to dusk gleaning in the fields to provide for her mother in law.

Lesson 1 from the Book of Ruth:
Living our lives as a testimony before God requires us to do only that which is right. It is not just in the big events in our lives, but even in the little things God sees and He rewards.

It is interesting that Ruth is a Moabite and Boaz is a descendent of Rahab the prostitute. But they became the ancestors of King David and later, Jesus Himself. It is interesting that God chose the two of them to be the one whose lineage will come forth our savior. Jesus is a descendant of a prostitute and of the enemy of the Jews!!! What’s more interesting, is that this happened in Bethlehem, the home town of Jesus, a small forgotten town, unlike the great city of Jerusalem.

What does this tell us about God?

Our God is impartial and loves everyone. And He never overlooks the “insignificant” like the world does. And He honors those who honor Him. God looked down and saw a man who did the right thing by redeeming Ruth and caring for her and her mother in law as the law requires, though he has every right not to do so. One who made special arrangements so that Ruth’s dignity will be protected while she worked in the fields. He also saw Ruth who chose to lay down her rights to look after her mother in law and care for her. One who works hard daily to ensure Naomi is well taken care of. One who chose to follow the real God.

And because of that, a descendent of Rahab (who God remembers also since the day of Joshua) and a Moabite received a tremendous inheritance, to be part of the lineage in which the Messiah will come from. And God remembers them to have their story recorded down for us through the generations.

Lesson 2:
Nothing is insignificant before God. God’s eyes are always on the upright. We remember the Lawrence Khongs and the Billy Grahams, but God remembers also those who mentored these great men of God. Sometimes we might feel that the things we do seemed so insignificant, but still continue to do that which is right before God. Just like Ruth abd Boaz, if you think, about it, they didn’t really do anything remotely spectacular, but God saw, and remembers them and gave them an everlasting inheritance. The friend beside you, or your cell member could just be the next Lawrence Khong, but God has chosen you to do impart into that life until the time is right. Will you do that which is right then?