“And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.” His name was Elimelech and one of the sons, Mahlon, took for himself a Moabite woman as a wife. Her name was Ruth. (See the book of “Ruth”).
The story of Ruth is one of the most beautiful love stories ever told. It is also one of the most amazing stories of God’s love and providential care for His children.
We all experience tough situations from time to time. But in our culture, since the day our country was founded, we can turn to God in prayer. All through our country’s history, the wars, the Great Depression, the tornadoes and hurricanes, and the bombing of the World Trade Center, people have turned to God for help. We often ignore God when things are going well, but as soon as disaster strikes, we know where to go for aid. And our God has been gracious and compassionate time and time again.
There was no such history of a loving God for the Moabites. The false gods of this people were cruel. The chief god, Chemosh, demanded worship that involved erotic imagery and unspeakably lewd conduct. Everything you could imagine that was abominable was practiced by the Moabites. In fact, this idol worship often involved human sacrifices.
There was a famine going on in Moab at this time as well as in Israel. Apparently the famine was not quite as bad in Moab, and so Elimelech and Naomi and their sons moved there. We are absolutely shocked that he would do this, that he would leave the land of Israel where they could pray to Yahweh for sustenance. Time and again, God had rescued the Israelites from their troubles. (This story occurs during the time of the Judges.) Moab had been cursed by God, and the pagans living there could not presume on Yahweh for help while worshiping their idols. It was a bold move on Elimelech’s part to take his family into this evil land.
Soon tragedy struck. We do not know why Elimelech and his sons died (Ruth 1:2, 5). Perhaps it was due to disease from the famine. In any event, God spared Naomi and her two daughters-in-law. We can see from subsequent events that Naomi had remained faithful in her practice of worshiping Yahweh throughout all of these hard times.
The Scriptures do not tell us exactly why Ruth followed Naomi by embracing the Israelite God. But we can only imagine that Yahweh must have seemed gentle and loving to her in comparison to the pagan gods of Moab. The practices of the Israelite family that she married into must have been just the opposite of the wickedness of the worship of Chemosh.
And so we might think it’s not too surprising that Ruth would want to adopt the religion of
her godly mother-in-law. But Ruth’s sister-in-law did not adopt the Israelite religion. Orpah returned “to her people and her gods” (Ruth 1:15). They were both in the same situation. Orpah wanted to stay in Moab. Why did Ruth choose Yahweh and return to Bethlehem with Naomi?
It is because Ruth had already had a genuine conversion experience and would trust God to take care of her no matter what. She wanted to return to the land of Yahweh’s people when the possibility presented itself. Here are her words, familiar to many as promises made in wedding ceremonies, but the promises are to Naomi and Yahweh.
“But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.’”
This petition is actually the response of a grateful woman. This woman had been saved by grace and was anxious to follow God after her redemption. She believed at this time that she could show her gratitude to God by taking care of Naomi.
We know the rest of this wonderful story. Ruth helped Naomi by gleaning in the grain fields of a kinsman named Boaz. Boaz fell deeply in love with Ruth. When he realized that he was in a position to be the “kinsman redeemer” for Elimelech’s family, and would therefore be able to marry Ruth, he went to work right away to accomplish their redemption.
What this means is that Boaz, as a near relative, was an official guardian of the honor and the property of his relatives. In Old Testament times, if a man died and left no heirs, the “kinsman redeemer”, a male relative who was still single, could marry the widow and father offspring who would inherit the name and the property of the one who had died.
Boaz was obviously deeply in love with Ruth and wanted to marry her. We might wonder why he just didn’t ask Naomi for Ruth’s hand in marriage. But Boaz was also a devout Israelite and he knew the proper thing to do. There was another relative who was closer who could have redeemed the family property of Elimelech. So Boaz met with the man and went through a ceremony whereby they settled the issue. Ruth was the widow of Mahlon, who should be the inheritor of Elimelech’s property. The closer relative was not willing to marry Ruth; he felt that his own inheritance would somehow be in jeopardy. And so, he passed over the privilege and responsibility to Boaz (Ruth 4:1-11).
So, Ruth and Boaz were married and we know that she was blessed very soon with a son. This son, Obed would be the father of Jesse who would be the father of David. And so, God made Ruth a believer, a happily married woman, and a mother. And more than that, He actually put her in the very line of the ancestry of the Lord Jesus Christ!
We see that hand of God in every step of the way in Ruth’s life. The Lord allowed the famine in the land of Israel. God led Elimelech and his family to Moab. Somehow, God arranged for Ruth to be in the right place at the right time to be chosen as Mahlon’s wife. He did not give Mahlon and Ruth any children. Yahweh preserved the faith of Naomi, and moved her to desire to return to Bethlehem. God changed Ruth’s heart and she grew to love Him and desire to worship Him. God blessed her and Naomi with relatives to love and care for them in Bethlehem. The Lord brought an unmarried near relative to redeem Naomi’s property and marry Ruth. God blessed them with a son.
Before God intervened in her life, Ruth had nothing to look forward to. She lived in a horribly evil land. She may have died from the famine or been forced into a marriage with an idolatrous man. She would have probably participated in lewd customs. She would have died a nobody and gone to Hell like just about everybody else in her country.
Instead, a gracious, wonderful God rescued her from all of that. She had the courage to recognize the hand of God and the determination to follow Him. She grew into a loving relationship with her Lord and her new family. What a wonderful Savior!
When we read Ruth’s story, our hearts should be filled to overflowing with thankfulness as we remember that this same God has redeemed us too.
