In this episode, we delve into the profound narrative of the Book of Ruth, a timeless story rooted in biblical history. Explore the themes of loyalty, redemption, and divine providence as we navigate through Ruth’s poignant journey alongside Naomi, her mother-in-law. Discover how this classic love story also emphasizes virtuous womanhood and commitment, unfolding during a period when Israel was without a king.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we begin the book of Ruth. I will use my ESV Study Bible book introduction to look at the book of Ruth. The story of the book of Ruth takes place in the time of Judges, before a king reigned over Israel, probably around 1000 BC. The book is named for its main character, Ruth, a Moabite woman who marries Boaz. They eventually have a son, Obed, who is the grandfather of King David. Therefore, Ruth is an ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus. The theme of Ruth is how God’s people experience His sovereignty, wisdom, and covenant kingdom even under difficult circumstances. Kindness and redemption are two key themes. The book of Ruth is the Bible’s classic love story. Few stories in the Bible are told from a woman’s viewpoint, but in Ruth, the writer gives attention to feminine values and feelings. Also, Boaz, in his role as kinsman redeemer, presents a striking figure of a man who embodies the Lord’s own kindness. The book of Ruth exalts virtuous womanhood and strong manhood. Ruth is one of the only two books in the Bible named after a woman, Ruth and Esther. Interestingly, Ruth is a Gentile woman who marries a Hebrew man. Esther is a Jewish woman who marries a Gentile man. Ruth is not only a love story, it is a tremendous example of how redemption changes everything. Our guest reader for the Book of Ruth is my wife, Terry. Terry and I have been married for over 42 years. We met in high school at age 15, dated four years, and married at 19. We have been together our whole lives. She is a homemaker, raised our three children, and now focuses on our five grandchildren. Terry has been a member of the Ezra Project Board of Directors since we started in 2002. She is our Special Events Coordinator. Terry will read the last two chapters of the Book of Ruth, so we’ll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of Ruth, Chapter 1.
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Ruth Ruth 1
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In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Malan and Kilian. 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. They lived there about ten years, and both Malan and Kilian died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
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Go, return each of you to her 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 rest, each of you, in the house of her husband.
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Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept, and they said to her… No, we will return with you, to your people.
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But Naomi said, Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Have I yet 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. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.
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Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said…
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See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law.
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But Ruth said, Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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 will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and more also if anything but death parts me from you.
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And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, Is this Naomi?
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She said to them, Do not call me Naomi. Call me Himera, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?
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So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
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To help us through the book of Ruth, I’ve selected three of my personal Bible reading journals. The first one is the first Bible reading journal I ever wrote back in 1983 when I was 28 years old. The next one is 14 years later in 1997 when I was 42 years old. And we’ll use 2011, another 14 years later, when I was 56 years old. So those are the three journals we will use in the book of Ruth. In 1983, after reading Ruth chapter 1, I wrote the first seven books focused on the nation of Israel. Ruth begins to focus on the family of the Messiah within the nation. Ruth was a Moabite woman, descendant of Lot. In 1997, I was reading the whole Old Testament that year, and I read the whole book of Ruth on one day, and I summarized the book this way. I wrote, nice story, but isn’t it against God’s instructions for Boaz to marry a Moabite? Yet she and he become the genealogy of David and Jesus. In 2011, I was reading the whole Bible in a year. So I was reading Old Testament passages and New Testament passages each day. So on this day, I read all the chapters of Ruth, and I read some passages out of Luke. Concerning Ruth, I wrote… Interesting that this story is about a Jewish man marrying a Moabite woman, which I thought was prohibited by the law, and that this union is blessed by God as the lineage of King David and the ancestor of Jesus himself. The story also shows God’s sovereignty and reward for faithfulness. Ruth to Naomi. The story of Ruth begins with a Jewish family. Eli Melech and his wife Naomi were from Bethlehem and the tribe of Judah. They have two sons, but then Naomi’s husband dies. The two sons took Moabite wives. I mentioned in my journal that I thought that was against the law of God. So let me read my ESV Study Bible footnote concerning this. Ruth’s husband was Malan. There was no formal prohibition against marrying Moabites. However, marriage to Moabites was discouraged because of their commitment to other gods, such as Moloch, the Balaam debacle, Israel’s debauchery with Moabite women in the wilderness, and the ten-generation Moabite male exclusion from the assembly of the Lord. So, I guess I learned something here, and that’s that it’s not prohibited. It was just discouraged to marry a Moabite. The two sons of Naomi both die, leaving the Moabite women without husbands. Naomi, the mother of the two sons, now intends to return to her homeland of Judah. Naomi graciously frees her daughters-in-law to go back to their homelands as well. But Ruth refuses to do so. Ruth demonstrates incredible loyalty to Naomi, her mother-in-law. In verse 16, the word says, Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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 will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts me from you. Naomi and Ruth returned to the city of Bethlehem, and the whole town is stirred up because of them. It had probably been many years since Naomi was in Bethlehem, so maybe they were excited to see her again. Or maybe they were concerned because she left with a husband, and she came back without one. Anyway, it was a reunion, and the whole town was stirred up. She left with the name Naomi, but now she calls herself Mara, which means bitter. Naomi is bitter because God has taken away her husband and her two sons. She returns desolate, childless, and as a widow. She has suffered, and she probably thinks her suffering is some kind of condemnation from God for some sin that she is unaware of. But this is not the end of the story of the book of Ruth, only the beginning. Maybe like Naomi, you think you’ve been dealt a bitter hand from the Lord. Maybe you’ve suffered greatly. Maybe you’ve lost members of your family. Maybe you’ve been divorced. Maybe you’re suffering under a health issue. Maybe you’ve lost your job. Maybe, like Naomi, you feel bitter against God. But again, this is only chapter 1 of the book of Ruth. So let’s see what God does with Naomi’s bitterness. It may give you hope for your own bitterness. Father, we thank you for the opening chapter of the book of Ruth. The scene is set, a scene of bitterness, disappointment, like many of us may feel from time to time in our lives. We look forward to what you might teach us in the book of Ruth that may soften our own bitterness toward you. Life doesn’t always turn out the way we want it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t turn out the way God wants it. Teach us, Lord, to hang in there with you, even if life gets bitter or difficult, even when it doesn’t turn out the way we think it should. Teach us sovereignty through your word. For it’s in Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen. 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The ESV Bible, the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, ESV, text edition 2007, all rights reserved. English Standard Version, ESV, and the ESV logo are registered trademarks of Good News Publishers, used by permission.
In this episode, we delve into the profound narrative of the Book of Ruth, a timeless story rooted in biblical history. Explore the themes of loyalty, redemption, and divine providence as we navigate through Ruth’s poignant journey alongside Naomi, her mother-in-law. Discover how this classic love story also emphasizes virtuous womanhood and commitment, unfolding during a period when Israel was without a king.
