Introducing the Incredibly Beautiful Story of Ruth
- mww
- 6 hours ago
- 15 min read
Your actions are your reputation.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Ruth 1 and 2
In the depths of the moral decay in the time of the judges, we read a simple story of two people who still had integrity and faith (and one of them wasn't a Jew!). But before we get to a beautiful payoff, we have to see two women's pain and loss and how they needed each other to work through it. Things are pretty bleak in this week's introduction.
May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me. (1:17)
Getting Started: Things to Think About
Who Is a Loyal Friend?
Welcome to the book of Ruth, one of the most breathtaking stories in the Bible. The things in Ruth are timeless and speak to all cultures, and any of them could make for a great opening topic to get your group thinking and talking.
For example, Ruth's loyalty to Naomi is an inspiration. How would you define a "loyal friend" today? What does a loyal friend do? Who are the loyal friends in your life, and how do you know when you have one?
Good Stories of In-Laws and Stepchildren
In-laws and stepchildren often get a bad rap in stories. But in the book of Ruth, the relationship between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law is the emotional hub of the entire story. So, have your group tell good stories about their in-laws and their steps.
A friend recently passed away. His wife had died several years before. She had children from a previous marriage, and those children had faithfully cared for this friend all those years. It was touching to talk to them. You don't have to be related by blood to be family.
Ancestry Time!
We find out at the end of the book that Ruth was, in fact, the great-grandmother of King David. Who knows if he appreciated this incredible story about his ancestors. So how about you? What's a story you've learned about your ancestors that has stuck with you? My wife loves to tell the story of her greats getting off the boat at Ellis Island, and then they got on a train and headed west, eventually getting off the train in Kansas.
What's your favorite such story, and why does it resonate with you?
When God Cleaned Up Your Questionable Decision
One last idea. Naomi ends up in Moab for questionable reasons -- a lot of Bible readers think Naomi's husband made a mistake leaving Israel in the first place. But in Moab, Naomi meets Ruth, and the rest is history.
What's a decision you made that, in retrospect, was probably not the right decision. And yet in spite of that, God brought a blessing out of it? Yes, I realize this is a fine line. If God can bring good out of it, how can it have been the wrong decision? Here's an example from my life -- when Shelly and I got married and felt the call to ministry, we quit our jobs and pulled up stakes and moved to seminary, even though we knew that Micah was due the week before classes started. With the benefit of hindsight, I think it would have been wiser to wait a semester and then start, but God took care of us. (Some fun stories.)
Taking Care of Your Family However You Can
In this week's passage, a young woman works all day in a field gathering the leftovers, hoping to obtain enough grain to feed herself and her mother-in-law. It's the kind of story that a lot of people can relate to.
In our news cycle, we get bombarded with stories of freeloaders, people who don't work and leech off the system. But there are also lots of examples of people working extremely hard to make ends meet -- working two or three jobs to pay the bills. Share a story or two like that, and have your group pray for the people we know who are struggling.
This Week's Big Idea: "The End of Reading Is Here"
I recently listened to a podcast with the author of a very provocative article in The Atlantic: The End of Reading Is Here - The Atlantic. If you're a reader (and my guess is that anyone who reads a long-form Bible study notes page is a reader), nothing in the article will surprise you. Well, except that the statistics are probably worse that you realized.
Here's one anecdote that really bothered me. Some researchers worked with students in the Ivy League who were studying to be English lit teachers -- those students couldn't process passages out of Dickens. They did not understand the type of literature they were reading. They had no idea what was going on. I was horrified.
So, this is something I won't take for granted anymore; I'll periodically give a reminder about "how to read the Bible" and "what is the Bible" and topics like that. Understanding how to read the Bible is one of the most important skills we can have as Christians. The book of Ruth is unique in the Bible, and it holds a unique place and purpose. If we don't realize that the authors of, say, the book of Genesis and the Gospel of John and the Song of Solomon had their own genre in mind, we'll miss the beauty of the Bible (and probably draw some questionable conclusions).
Luckily for us all, the Bible Project has an entire series on how to read the Bible.
I strongly encourage everyone to take a look at that. I'll link one of the videos here:
This Week's Actual Big Idea: Climate Migration
The foundation of the book of Ruth is a simple act of climate migration -- there was a famine in Israel, so Ruth's husband moved their family to Moab.
I think it would be worth making sure that your Bible study group is aware that this kind of movement is happening all over the world right now. We've heard plenty about how bad weather is causing upheaval everywhere; are you aware of the people who have made the hard decisions to move as a result?
One that will always stick out to me are the people who never moved back to New Orleans after Katrina. They didn't have time to think about leaving; they were just forced into it, and their lives were forever changed. I hope you are extremely empathetic with those folks.
Here are a few things happening around the world:
(Please overlook the political bias and focus on the stories and statistics about the people affected.)
I'm also touched by stories in the Colorado River basin -- things are getting bad enough there that people are wondering if they can stay:
This topic is an illustration that I hope will help us better understand and have empathy for what's going on in the book of Ruth. And vice versa! If your heart goes out to the characters in this week's Bible study, I hope you'll develop empathy for the people experiencing similar pressures today.
Introducing the Book of Ruth
We may as well lean all the way into the Bible Project here:
Ruth is four perfect chapters long. If Disney turned it into a prestige tv show, it would run three seasons, involve some weird side stories involving the king of Moab, an Arabic trader, and a plot between Egypt and Syria. And be canceled after the second season. This story is perfect exactly the way it's written.
We don't know who wrote it or when. It shares literary traits with things written during Solomon's reign, so I like the theory that it was written by a royal scribe under Solomon (who would have known the story and had access to the royal archive).
We find out that Ruth was King David's great-grandmother, which means this event took place in the depths of the time of the judges. It is generally accepted that the mentioned famine was punishment from God for the people's sinful ways of this time. (A really dark theory is that Elimelek's death was a result of his failing to trust God in Bethlehem, but that doesn't make sense to me. After all, it was God's plan for the line of David and Jesus.)
One thing people love about the story is the absence of regional politics. We know that Ruth came from Bethlehem and her husband took the family to Moab. That says a lot, but the author doesn't go into any of it. This is a personal story of one family's struggle to survive that happens to have huge implications for the future of a nation.
The author is a master storyteller. It has a clear beginning/middle/end; the characters are all relatable; the dialog is instructive and understandable; the events are believable. We're drawn into the story emotionally; we don't need to know the history to understand what's going on; even the strange customs of the day are told in such a way that we can follow it.
[Note: we're going to talk about the "kinsman-redeemer" next week.]
Why is this story in the Bible? Cynically, some scholars believe Solomon spread this story around to explain why it was okay that he had women from Moab in his harem. I'm more optimistic here. The book of Judges helps us understand how we got from the wonderful leadership of Joshua to the atrocious civil war of Judges 20. I believe this story helps us understand how we got from that low point to the hopeful future of the time of King David. Things were bad, but there were still godfearers (like Boaz) preserving God's people.
God is a "background Actor" in the book, but the author makes it overly obvious how God was definitely at work throughout. When things just "happen", it's clear that this is no coincidence but divine serendipity.
I think the dominant theme is God's mercy/lovingkindness. Even when things seem awful, God is still showing compassion to His children.
About Moab
Here's a wonderfully simple map from thebiblejourney.com
Moab was Lot's son and grandson (see Gen 19; icky stuff). His descendants moved to the area east of the Dead Sea and displaced the former inhabitants, and we don't really know much about them other than that. You'll remember the story that King Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel while they were passing through. We just skipped over Judges 3, in which King Eglon of Moab received tribute from Israelites for 18 years. That chapter also tells us how Judge Ehud fought back against Moab. And the books of Samuel and Kings mention many more armed conflicts between Israel and Moab.
We read about Moab's negative influence on Israelites in Numbers 25 and Psalm 106. Solomon built a "high place" for Moab's god Chemosh (1 Ki 11) out of respect for a Moabite wife. All of the Jewish readers of this book would have had a sour taste in their mouth at any mention of Moab. (Note: Moab was conquered by Babylon and eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire, never to exist again.)
Again, I think a key point is that God is at work among all people. The Israelites should have understood that God wanted them to be a blessing to the entire world, for there were people around the world ready and willing to believe in the One True God.
You might remember this map set a few hundred years after our story:
Part 1: The Hard Choices (Ruth 1:11-15)
11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13 would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying? No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.” 14 Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.”
Make sure your group understands the setting. It takes no time at all to read the first few verses. Ruth is a bit of a drama queen in chapter 1, but let's give her a break. She's lost everything, and she has no prospects for survival. Remember that there was no "welfare" in that day. An older woman would be cared for by her husband and then her sons.
There are three common interpretations: (1) Naomi was driving her daughters-in-law away out of selfish grief, (2) Naomi really did hope that they would be able to start new lives for themselves, or (3) Naomi knew she had to return to Bethlehem and couldn't be toting a Moabite. The only one of those that makes sense to me is 2. Ten years had passed, so they were probably in their mid- to upper-twenties (and Naomi was around 50 -- that was considered old in those days). That was young enough to start over. If Naomi was really concerned about appearances, she wouldn't have so quickly given in to Ruth's insistence.
We don't know anything about Orpah, so we shouldn't think ill of her for going back home. After all, it was the smart decision, and I do think Naomi wanted that for her. (And knowing how the story turned out, it couldn't have been awkward to have both daughters-in-law around.)
One of the breakout sessions at the SPARK Conference here last weekend was about ministering to those in grief. If you or anybody in your group has experience with this, you might spend some time on it. A person in grief may say things and make choices that are out of character for them, and they require unique care. How do you minister to someone in deep grief?
If you don't know much about this topic, here are three easy-to-read articles:
Note that Naomi specifically blames God for her grief. (This is repeated in 1:20.) We've all been there and known people who are there -- how do you counsel someone who is in this stage of grief?
This is related to another big topic we talk about regularly, worded as "how can God let bad things happen to good people?" or "why did God do this to me?" It is a fundamentally important topic to be comfortable talking about in a large group.
Finally, after reason and sense fail to "work" on Ruth, Naomi resorts to peer pressure.
Part 2: The Selfless Choices (Ruth 1:16-18)
16 But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me. 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her.
These are some of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. They have been grossly misused, and some have wrongly suggested that every true friendship should be like this. But for this circumstance, these words capture a truly pure example of "love one another".
Ruth isn't going to change her mind, so she's ready for Naomi to stop trying.
No, Ruth is not a Jew, but don't forget that Ruth has been in Naomi's family for 10 years now. She has heard the stories (as much as they were passed down in the days of the judges); she's had plenty of time to develop her own convictions about Naomi's God.
We can't say enough about Ruth. She willingly gave up her people to go with Naomi. She chose Naomi's people over her own. (In this, I think we can see a bit of the story of Rahab, another non-Jew who chose to align with the Jews who may also be in Jesus' family tree).
I don't have much to add. Ruth explains herself well. The Hebrew grammar in Ruth's words is determinative -- she is declaring what will happen.
I have to believe that Naomi was greatly relieved to hear this; she dropped her objections and never brought them up again (to our knowledge).
Big picture questions would be something like -- who has been "your Ruth"? or who have you been a Ruth to?
What Happens Next
Lifeway skips a few verses that are helpful for setting up the rest of the story. Save time to talk about them. Naomi brings Ruth back to her hometown of Bethlehem where she speaks bitterly to the people she knew there. (It's been 10 years, but it's only been 10 years.)
Two key details: (1) it's barley harvest season, and (2) one of Naomi's relatives owned a field.
Ruth offers to "glean" some fields for them. Take a look at Leviticus 19:9-10 to learn that God expected his people to allow this activity -- poor people picking/picking up leftover grains on the edge of a field. In this case, it's after the harvest. The grain stalks have been cut and bundled; what's left are the grains that have been dropped.
And then we have our chief "coincidence" -- I like how the NIV puts it: "as it turned out . . ." Ruth "just so happened" to be gleaning the field of Naomi's relative Boaz, and "just then" Boaz came by and saw her. The Hebrew word literally means "her chance chanced upon".
These are coincidences that we understand are not coincidences.
Part 3: The Kind Choices (Ruth 2:5-12)
5 Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the territory of Moab. 7 She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters?’ She came and has been on her feet since early morning, except that she rested a little in the shelter.” 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. 9 See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.” 10 She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?” 11 Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and your native land, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
This is such a rom-com line. "Who's that girl?" But it's also perfect, and every culture will understand it. We don't know if Boaz's interest is at all romantic or just altruistic, and that's not the point. The man has noticed the woman.
Modern readers will likely be put off by the phrasing -- "Whose girl is this?" (literally "to whom does this young woman belong?") -- let alone not asking for her name. I'm going to ask you to just get over it. In a patriarchal society, an unmarried woman "belongs" to her father; a married woman "belongs" to her husband; in a few cases, it could be a slave who "belongs" to her master. Boaz is not a chauvinist or a bigot; this is just the language used in the day.
Naomi and Ruth have been back in town long enough for the story to have fully spread. If you think romurs spread quickly in Thomson, I'm sure we have nothing on ancient Bethlehem. And this is where honesty and loyalty and compassion really shines -- those are the stories being told about Ruth. "I don't know anything about that woman, but I know what she is doing for Naomi." Boaz has heard these stories, and now he can "put a face with the name".
Note that Ruth asked for permission to gather the grains. That speaks well of her integrity. It also suggests that she didn't know about the Moasic law about gleaning.
Boaz calls her "my daughter". So, yeah, he's older than Ruth, probably by 15 years. (Or more. We don't know for sure about his age, but I've thought of him as being slightly younger than Naomi. He obviously would have known Naomi well, being related to her and growing up with her in a small town and all.)
Boaz is doing this for Ruth (1) out of respect for Naomi and (2) because he is genuinely an honorable man. There is nothing untoward in his behavior.
Some key lessons:
from Ruth -- her behavior was her reputation;
from Boaz -- being a person of integrity and generosity plays well in stories.
Some closing thoughts about the next part of the story:
2:22 So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.” 23 Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s female servants and gathered grain until the barley and the wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Remember that this is the time of the judges; moral evil is rampant in Israel.
Also note that after that one encounter with Boaz, that was basically it. To me, that cements that Boaz was not hitting on Ruth. In fact, Naomi has to orchestrate their next meeting!
Next week, we'll talk more about the harvest/threshing process.
This week is about setting up the characters -- it is possible to maintain your integrity when the world around you has gone to pot.
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