Today’s passage: Ruth 4:13-22

Helpful thoughts:

• God provided an heir.  The line was saved, the land and inheritance redeemed.  Naomi (Who had called herself embittered) was blessed.
  • Ruth had been unable to conceive in her marriage to Mahlon.  God gave her the gift of conception.  Life is a gift that starts at conception.
• Ruth loved Naomi!  This love is not an emotional feeling but the expression of a covenant commitment.  This is the kind of love that we are called to give.
• This special baby boy is very special indeed.  He would become the grandfather of King David, and therefore, in the line of the Messiah. (Matthew 1:1-17)

Questions to consider:

1. What insight does this passage give us to the value of life?  How should we view every life that is given?
2. What insight does this passage give us to the nature of love?  What is a biblical definition of love?  What would be a cheap substitute definition of love?
3. Beyond the amazing details of this story, why is it in the Scripture?  What is a major reason we need to know this narrative?  How is God’s covenant faithfulness and love put on display towards all of us in this short book?

Today’s passage: Ruth 4:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• How lucky that the closer redeemer would happen to walk by as Boaz sat down at the gates of the city…or how providential!
• The Redeemer laws (Land) and the Levirate marriage were two different but connected things.
  • Both Boaz and the other redeemer had an interest in the land.  But whether there would be a willingness to marry Ruth and provide an heir from the line of Elimelech or not had to be decided.
  • Neither men had a legal obligation to Ruth according to the letter of the Law (Neither of them were brothers of the deceased and the nearer redeemer could have brought this up).  But both understood the spirit of the law.
  • Had the nearer redeemer taken the land and left the care of Ruth and her child(ren) up to Boaz, there would have been the possibility of legal disputes over the land in the next generation.
• A helpful clarification.  No money was being exchanged for the land or for Ruth.  This land was an inheritance.  It was not for sale on the open market.  So, the land was acquired by inheritance.  Boaz acquired a wife, he didn’t purchase Ruth.
• The people of Bethlehem bless Boaz and Ruth with remembrance of the mothers of Israel (Rachel and Leah), and the ancestor of Boaz, who herself had been previously widowed (Tamar).

Questions to consider:

1. In what ways were the women referenced in the blessing so appropriate?  Where were they from?  How did they compare to Ruth?
2. What motivation seemed to drive the nearer redeemer?  What prevented him from taking the role of the redeemer? What differed in Boaz’s approach?
3. Is there ever a time when we could honor the Lord’s commands and NOT benefit from it (Like the man who deferred his responsibility to Boaz thought)?  How are we blessed when we love our neighbor as ourselves and do the right thing?

Today’s passage: Ruth 3:1-18

Helpful thoughts:

• Some believe Naomi was trying to get Ruth to beautify herself in preparation for her meeting with Boaz, but it is quite possible that the bathing, perfuming and changing of clothes signified that Ruth was no longer in her state of mourning after becoming a widow.  David did a similar thing after mourning the death of his first son with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:20).
• Naomi’s instructions for Ruth were very risky.  Given the nature of the time in which they lived, Ruth’s actions could have been viewed as something far different and sinful.  However, the kind of dress Naomi told Ruth to wear would have been for covering (In the cold of night), not for enticing.  Ruth’s actions could have been perceived as an offer of sinful interaction…or as a very unconventional proposal of marriage.  These ladies left it up to Boaz to decide and respond appropriately.
• Ruth did ask Boaz to marry her, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
  • Boaz said yes…as long as one complication could be resolved, a nearer redeemer.
  • Boaz also praised Ruth for her devotion to the Law of Israel and her respect for the family she had married into.  In a time when Israel had abandoned the Law (Really…the LORD!), this Moabite woman pursued the Lord’s commands without fear or hesitation.
• Boaz’s instructions to Ruth further protected her honorable reputation.  Leaving the threshing floor at midnight or shortly thereafter would have made her look like she had come for no good purpose.
  • His commitment to do the right thing (Going above and beyond the “letter of the law” to the “spirit of the law”) further showcases Boaz’s integrity and heart for the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. How have Ruth’s actions shown that covenant faithfulness is a matter of the heart and not physical heritage? (Romans 2:28-29)
2. What had become Ruth’s reputation among the people of Bethlehem which ended up allowing Ruth and Boaz to be a right fit in marriage?  How had she come to have this reputation?  How was Ruth a right fit for Boaz in ways that matter far more than social class and wealth?
3. What was Ruth able to do after she had obeyed and pursued the Lord’s will?  What does following the Lord and partnering with godly people allow us to do even when we don’t know what may transpire?

Today’s passage: Ruth 2:14-23

Helpful thoughts:

• Boaz invited Ruth to the meal.  She did not invite herself… (Proverbs 25:7)
• Boaz showered Ruth with unexpected generosity.  Ruth responded with kindness, self-control and gratitude.
  • Ruth also worked hard!  The amount of grain she took home would have been tough even to carry back home.  It was enough that Naomi knew instantly that someone had chosen to be a blessing to Ruth.
• There were different laws concerning close relatives who could function as redeemers (Such as Leviticus 25:25-28).  And there was a law (The Levirate Marriage) concerning what to do to carry on the family line should a man die without an heir (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).  Boaz was close enough to be a redeemer of any land or relative, but would not have been expected to do any more.
• After all of this generosity and respect, we are reminded of the time-period where this narrative occurs after Boaz and Naomi both have to give instruction to keep Ruth from being abused in the fields.

Questions to consider:

1. What resulted from the kindness and generosity of Boaz? What impact did it have on Naomi and Ruth? The rest of his employees?
2. What does the verse about Ruth living with Naomi confirm?  What had Ruth committed to do?  What was she not pursuing among the young men in the field?
3. Given the provisions in the Law for families like Ruth and Naomi’s, what kind of ending would you expect to see in this book?

Today’s passage: Ruth 2:1-13

Helpful thoughts:

• There was provision in the Law for the poor, sojourners, orphans and widows to gather up the left-overs from the harvest (Leviticus 19:9-10, Deuteronomy 24:19).
  • Israel was not however in the habit of keeping the Law entirely well, hence Ruth’s hope that she would find someone who would show her favor.
• From man’s perspective, Ruth just happened to stumble upon Boaz’s field, but we know better (Proverbs 16:33).
• Boaz immediately begins to protect and elevate Ruth.  He tells Ruth to stay in his fields, to stay with his female workers, that she will be safe from any of the men, and that she may drink from their water supply.
• Ruth is amazed that Boaz is treating her with such respect, especially being a woman from Moab.  But, Boaz has rightly understood her rightful place among the people, having taken refuge in the LORD!

Questions to consider:

1. How did Ruth show her character in being willing to work in the fields?  She and Naomi were in a difficult place, how did she respond?
2. In what ways is Boaz already starting to look like a picture of our gracious Lord?
3. How does “Coming under the wings” of the Lord and working in the fields go together?  In what way was Ruth’s allegiance to the LORD followed by her actions?

Today’s passage: Ruth 1:6-22

Helpful thoughts:

• As we said yesterday, a good harvest, or the lack thereof, was generally held to be a sign of blessing or cursing from the god of the people.  In Israel’s case, there was truth to that claim (Deuteronomy 28).
• Naomi acknowledged God’s power and his ability to bless or curse.  However, she did not approve of how He exercised His power.
  • She had gone from being Naomi (Pleasant) to Mara (Bitter).
  • If the family had been “full”, they never would have left Israel in the first place.
  • Perhaps it should be said, Naomi and her family left empty, and the Lord brought her back with a refreshing (Ruth).
• The name Bethlehem means House of Bread.
• Naomi thought it would be better for Ruth and Orpah to go back to their people and their gods.  Ruth disagreed and declared her allegiance to the God of Israel.

Questions to consider:

1. How would you summarize Naomi’s beliefs about God and also the other gods of the surrounding nations?
2. What earthly securities did Ruth give up to go to Bethlehem with Naomi?  What security did she now enjoy?
3. What worldy comforts could tempt you and prevent you from enjoying the only comfort that lasts for eternity?

Today’s passage: Ruth 1:1-5

Helpful thoughts:

• The events of the book of Ruth occurred during the time of the Judges in Israel.
• In a time when everyone in Israel was doing what seemed right in their own eyes, this Israelite man led his family to leave the Promised Land.
  • Israel did not like Moab!  It would have been a grueling decision to go there, but that seemed better than staying.
  • The sons married women who were not followers of Yahweh.
  • In that day, there would have been a cultural understanding that Israel was not being blessed by the gods (Or by their God) with rains and harvest, but the Moabites were.
• This family left Israel in an effort to save their lives.  They found food…and died anyway.
• There was a physical famine in Israel, a spiritual famine in the hearts of Israel, and now a famine of men in this family!  This opening paragraph heaps sorrow upon sorrow.
• Ruth’s name means, a refreshing.

Questions to consider:

1. According to Deuteronomy 28, why was there famine in Israel?
2. What then would have been the proper response for Israel?  Was leaving the Promised Land the right thing to do?
3. When times of trouble come, should we run away from the Lord or to Him?  (Psalm 18:1-2)