Ruth is a book set in the time of one of the earlier judges, and probably took place some time before Samson and Jephthah. It is a fascinating story about an ordinary family, Elimelech, Naomi and their two sons. Many years before, there had been a famine in their home town of Bethlehem (1v1) and , it was then, they decided to settle in Moab, a country east of the Dead Sea.

MOVE TO MOAB-THE WRONG PLACE
Sometimes we take a path in life, one that seems right, perhaps one we think is right for our family, but it ends up in the wrong place. Elimelech believed he was caring for his family when he took them to the more prosperous country of Moab and had only intended to live there “for a while.” He may have had doubts whether this was God’s best purpose for his life but it was a time when Israel, the nation, was also going wrong. Israel had suffered that famine because she had gone away from the Lord for famine was one of the Levitical curses for disobedience. Elimelech may have thought, well Israel is in a mess, my personal circumstances are in a mess, what have I to lose? He had lived in Bethlehem which means “place of plenty” but the place wasn’t living up to its name and to move just seemed the right thing to do, so off he went.

Have you ever done the same thing? Have you taken a decision in your own life, only to find that you did not end up in the place you expected. Frankly, you made a mistake, you did not realise, at first, but over time the Lord showed you. To take a wrong turn is not unusual because we, probably, all make Elimelech mistakes from time to time. The Lord is always patient with us, gently leading us and then, opening up new opportunities. When we realise we are in the wrong place, we should confess our sins and quickly move to the right place. We must not harden our hearts to the Lord but be humble and willing to change. That is not weakness, that is strength, flexibility and openness before the almighty God. Perhaps, we have found that it is always best to stay in the central purposes of God’s love, even if we have to go through a little pain to get there. The problem with Moab was that it was not the land of promise. Elimelech had moved away from the fellowship of God’s people to live with a people who worshipped other gods. In Gideon’s time, we know that Moab were worshipping the dreadful Baal and Ashtoreth pagan gods. My advice is not to run from God’s judgement on your life, face up to it. Far better to stay in God’s appointed famine, learn the lessons of repentance and confession of sin, and be around for God’s inevitable restoration. Elimelech should have stayed with God’s people, known the support of others during the hard times and pleaded with God for restoration.

NAOMI’S LIFE NOW EMPTY
If God has touched you, shown you what he wants you to know, don’t try to blame others. Naomi accepted the consequence of her mistake (v21) “the Lord’s hand has gone out against me”. Don’t call me Naomi, meaning pleasant, she told the people of Bethlehem when she returned. “Call me Mara” (v20) which means bitter for “I went away full but the Lord has brought me back empty”. You see the world that attracts us away seems to offer a lot but when we have tasted its pleasures to the full, all we are left with is emptiness inside. In Naomi there was no pretence, no hypocrisy. She could have told others, “Oh Moab was great but I just felt I wanted a change”. The truth was, she went away with a husband, two sons and a future but came back with no hope. Sometimes the Lord brings us to the point of desperation so that we turn to Him and enrich our lives in Him. Wile living in Moab, Elimelech died (v3) and his sons were tempted to marry foreign women, a practice strictly forbidden by the Lord because it always led to a life of compromise and pagan worship. The two sons only lived 10 years in the country before they both died; Mahlon means “sickness” and Kilion “consumption” (v5).

NAOMI REFINED
But such is the grace of God that sometimes, in our place of weakness and refining, God’s beauty begins to shine through. We can make mistakes but sometimes, in our mess, others can see the light of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the case for Ruth and Orpah, her surviving daughters in law. They had shown kindness to Naomi (v8), wept with her (v9) and left their natural homes and families to start off on the road back. In the graciousness of Naomi we see a character honed and refined by the Lord (v8) for she blessed them those words “May the Lord show kindness to you” and (v9) “may the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband”.

RUTHS LOVE
We know the story of how Orpah followed Naomi’s persuasion and (v14) returned home to her family but Ruth clung to her. Ruth, in those precious words of sacrificial love (v16-18), was willing to throw in everything with Naomi and more importantly, her God. “Where you go I will go… your people shall be my people and your God my God”. Ruth is a wonderful picture of us Gentiles for, once, we were not God’s people but now we have become God’s people. God does not like half-heartedness and we can read how Jesus replied to certain people who came to Him (Luke 9v62), “no-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God”. The Lord is like Naomi, he does not force himself upon us, but draws us with loving kindness. Are we Orpah people or Ruth people? We, initially, respond to God in love but when it comes to the crunch, do we go away sorrowful? I am told that the feast of the Passover took place at the time of the barley harvest. Hallelujah, Naomi (v22) came back to Bethlehem at the time of the barley harvest. Not only was it the time of God’s provision for their physical needs, but it was the Passover, reminding her that God had passed over her sins and provided for all her spiritual needs. Ruth (2v2) soon impressed others with her hard-working nature for, willing to do anything, she started gleaning the small harvest leftovers.

BOAZ
I think of Boaz as a type of Jesus, a man uncompromised by the backsliding prevalent at the time. Boaz had stayed in Israel, experienced the Lord’s refining during the hard times, but now enjoyed the Lord’s prosperity. In him, we find a man unaffected by wealth and power and we see his positive relationship with his working men. We read that he greeted them with the words (2v4) “The Lord be with you”, to which the workers called back “The Lord bless you”. In those words we see a mutual respect and joint dependence on the Lord. Boaz had a foreman working for him (v5) but still came, himself, to greet the workers and encourage them. We see his protection for Ruth, in her vulnerability, and his appreciation of the things of worth in her character, in particular (v11,12), her loving care for Naomi and sacrificial willingness to leave all and take refuge under the Lord’s wings. In 2v12, Boaz is seen blessing her. In Ruth we see a further kindness to Naomi when she saved part of her lunch portion to take back to her (v18). Naomi, for her part, saw in Boaz what we see in the graciousness of our lord Jesus Christ. He bought us with a price and adopted us to be in his family. When we had no hope, we placed ourselves at his mercy, just like the woman who touched the hem of his garment. Like Ruth (3v7), we laid down at the feet of Jesus and asked him to put the corner of his garment over us (v9). It is not hard or difficult, just an expression of love. His response is to cover us over with the robe of righteousness.

KINSMAN REDEEMER
In the law, there were special provisions for families when a husband died. His nearest kin (kinsman redeemer) was encouraged to take responsibility for his family and property to ensure the family line and inheritance continued. In chapter four you see how Boaz redeemed Naomi’s family and, consequently, married Ruth.

RUTH BROUGHT INTO THE ROYAL FAMILY LINE
Ruth, a Moabitess, initially outside the promises of Israel, was now brought near. In fact so near that she became part of the family line that led to Christ. We read that she eventually gave birth to Obed (v17) who was the father of Jesse (v22), the father of King David. As we know from Matthew 1, many generations later, Jacob gave birth to Joseph, who was the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ (v16). Who says genealogies are boring? Family trees are exciting when you find out more about your ancestors, especially when they lead to the most wonderful person the world has ever known. Naomi and Ruth became part of the family that led to Jesus Christ. We are part of the family that leads from Jesus Christ. It was all part of God’s plan, as we can see from Elimelech’s name, which meant “my God, a king”. One of his ancestors would become the greatest king of Israel; another, a heavenly king, the King of kings would find us, like Naomi, in a place of brokenness and make us blessed and fruitful.