Ruth
1:1-22
1:1 In the days when
the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of
Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two
sons. The name of the man was Elimelech
and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and
Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the
country of Moab and remained there.
But Elimelech, the
husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one
was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten
years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her
two sons and her husband.
Then she started to
return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in
the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them
food. So she set out from the place
where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on
their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
"Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with
you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security,
each of you in the house of your husband." Then she kissed them, and they
wept aloud. They said to her, "No, we will return with you to your
people."
But Naomi said, "Turn
back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb
that they may become your husbands? Turn
back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I
thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear
sons, would you then wait until they
were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been
far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned
against me." Then they wept aloud
again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has
gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
But Ruth said, "Do not press me to
leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where
you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die -— there will I be
buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death
parts me from you!" When Naomi saw
that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So the two of them went on until they came to
Bethlehem.
When they came to
Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said,
"Is this Naomi?" She said to
them, "Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt
bitterly with me. I went away full, but
the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt
harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" So Naomi returned together with Ruth the
Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab.
They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
The message
We are starting a 4 week series on the Book of
Ruth. Over that time, we will read
through most of the book. Like several
other series and readings in the Narrative Lectionary, this is the first time I
remember hearing this book at church and certainly the first time preaching on
it.
To be honest, Over the years, I forgot what the Book
of Ruth was about. I knew it was centered
on the commitment and faithfulness of the title character, a woman named Ruth,
but I didn’t remember much else. I
needed to do a lot of research and a refresher on this book. Ruth of Moab’s story is in the Bible because
she is the great grandmother of King David. In the start of Matthew’s Gospel, we see the
genealogy of Jesus, Abraham was the
father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah
and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez
the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of
Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,
and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and
Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. It’s mostly men named but there are 4 women
including Ruth (that’s 4 out of 42, not a great percentage but the tradition of
the time was to only name fathers / men).
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, each of the women named in the
geneology of Jesus where extremely important, doing extraordinary things to
maintain Jesus family line. Ruth is also one of the only non-Israelites on the
list (an early reminder that Jesus opened the kingdom of God to all
people).
In the Jewish tradition and commentaries, Ruth is
lifted up as the example of an ideal convert, who fully leaves her old religion
behind to embrace her new faith. She is
also seen as an example of keeping promises and commitments. Throughout the book, the foreignness of Ruth
is mentioned repeatedly. She is Moabite
from Moab, she is not an Israelite seeking help in an Israelite city. Some
scholars believe this is stressed as a reminder to people of their biblical
call to welcome and care for all people, not just their own. It could also be
side taking in an ancient dispute regarding the intermarriage between
Israelites and non-Israelites. Naomi
serves as an example of perseverance. Boaz (who we will meet next week) is an
example of generosity, compassionate wealth and care for strangers. The book of Ruth has endured for many
centuries across many cultures and religions as an example of commitment, loyalty,
love for family and generous care for strangers. To look back on 1st John for a
second, this is a story of active love, love that does.
Today, in chapter 1, we hear the start of the drama.
The story is set in the time of the judges, a period where Israel was led by a
series of men and women like Samuel and Deborah known as judges. This is the
time right before the start of the Monarchy. (Although people suspect the book
of Ruth was written later). There is a
famine in the land and Naomi and her family move in search of sustainable food.
They settle in Moab. (This is similar to
the experiences of the great patriarchs of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
all leave their homes to escape famine).
Naomi’s husband dies but she is okay because she has 2 sons. Mahlon
(which means sickly) and Chilon (which means frail), Naomi’s sons marry Moabite women and after 10
years, they live up to their names and both of Naomi’s sons die. Now the three women are alone. This was
bad. Woman had few things they could
legally or culturally do in society without a man. For Naomi being beyond child
bearing age meant, at best, extreme poverty. In verse 6, we learn the famine is
over. (this is one of only 2 mentions of the Lord intervening in the
book). With the famine ended Naomi
prepares to return home to Israelite land, where they can hopefully stay and be
cared for by her relatives. Wisdom gets the better of her and
Naomi gives Ruth
and Oprah very practical advice, I am of no use to you, leave me, go home to your
family, your people, find new husbands and live well. Things would not be easy
in Bethlehem, Ruth and Oprah would certainly be better off remaining in Moab.
Naomi is filled with thanksgiving for their dedicated and offers thanks and
blessing. Naomi would stand a small chance with them but she does not ask or
expect them to make that sacrifice. Oprah does what virtually any sane person
would, she listens and goes home.
Ruth refuses powerfully, speaking the most
well-known (or only known) verses in the book, Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my
people, and your God my God. Where you
die, I will die -— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well, if even death parts me from you part me from you. Naomi
can’t even argue with that one and they go to Bethlehem together, This proclamation of faithfulness and
commitment to do whatever it takes, to face their fate together is the legacy
of Ruth.
When they arrive at Naomi’s home city, there is no
welcome home party, really there is no welcome at all. Instead, there are
whispers, is that Naomi?, where is her husband? where are her 2 sons? Are all three of them gone? What is she going to do? Who is this foreign
woman with her? There is an awkward mix
of judgment, empathy, pity and curiosity.
This is the moment after you have been fired and your cleaning out your
office or committed a crime and have to face your victims. Naomi responds to
the these comments, saying she is Naomi (a name that means pleasantness) but
she is not the woman who left. She is
now Mara (a name meaning bitterness, a name expressing who she is, what she is
enduring).
They are poor in Bethlehem at the start of the
harvest. It is a time of abundance, plenty of work they cannot do, the fortunes
of a year made in 2 months, except they have no land to harvest and no right to
sell barley. There is no advice from the
crowd, just questions and pity. Its not
like there was much that could be done anyway. Naomi and Ruth will need help.
They will need to do something smart, fast, creative and get some lucky breaks
to survive.
Ironically, Bethlehem, the place of the famine that
moves Naomi and her family to Moab, literally means house of bread or house of
food. Anyone can end up in trouble. We do not have to look too far to find Ruths
and Naomis in our world. We know people
who have had their lives upset and devastated by unexpected, undeserved things.
We have people with nothing surrounded by abundance all around us. We have people from other countries who walk
in like Ruth, who have left everything behind and have nothing. We have refugees like Naomi who flee
something impossible for a slim chance at something better all around the
world. We have people who walk into our churches or our lives that are greeted
with whispers, where has she been, what did he do, how could he come back, I
cant believe shes here, instead of welcome. The Book of Ruth will remind us
that all people struggle, sometimes need a hand and are children of God (and
may end up doing very special things).
More importantly, this is how we approach God. We got nothing. We cannot keep the law, pile up enough good
deeds to earn a spot in heaven, we show up before God, sinners depending on
grace we didn’t earn and mercy we don’t deserve.
In Matthew 5, Jesus shares the Beatitudes,. “Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will
be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called children of God. In our world,
peacemakers are often called something else. The merciful are seen as weak, the
poor in Spirit are annoying and better off left alone, This passage is about the
Ruths and Naomis of our world, they are the blessed.
Next week, we will meet Boaz for the first time and
experience that moment of Ruth and Namoi doing something smart, fast, creative
and getting some lucky breaks (also known as God's providence to people of faith) to survive.
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