Ruth, the faithful foreigner

In the dark times of the judges, when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes”, the Bible gives us a luminous story of loyalty, love, work and providence. It is the story of Ruth, a foreign woman from Moab who chose the God of Israel, and of Boaz, a generous man who redeemed her. It is a short book of only four chapters, but its ending connects directly with King David and with Jesus Christ. It is also one of only two books of the Bible named after a woman.

Famine in Bethlehem

The story begins with an irony: there was famine in Bethlehem, whose name means “house of bread”. A man called Elimelech, with his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, emigrated to the fields of Moab, across the Dead Sea, looking for food. There Elimelech died. His sons married two Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Ten years later both sons died too. Naomi was left alone in a foreign land, without husband, sons or livelihood, with her two widowed daughters-in-law.

“Thy people shall be my people”

Naomi heard that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread, and decided to return to Bethlehem. She urged her daughters-in-law to go back to their homes in Moab, where they could remarry. Orpah, in tears, kissed her mother-in-law and turned back. But Ruth clung to her and spoke one of the most beautiful declarations of loyalty in world literature:

“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”

Ruth 1:16-17

Ruth did not only choose to accompany Naomi; she chose her people and her God. She left her land, her family and her gods, as Abraham had done centuries before. And she did so with no human guarantee: she was a foreign widow, from a people historically hostile to Israel, accompanying another poor widow.

“Call me not Naomi”

When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city was moved. The women asked: “Is this Naomi?” But she answered: “Call me not Naomi (pleasant), call me Mara (bitter): for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty” (Ruth 1:20-21). The Bible does not hide Naomi’s pain. But the chapter ends with a detail of hope: they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth in Boaz’s field

The law of Moses commanded farmers not to reap the corners of their fields or gather the fallen ears, so that the poor, strangers, widows and orphans could glean them (Leviticus 19:9-10). Ruth, poor, widowed and foreign, met all three conditions. She went out to glean, and “her hap was to light” on the part of the field belonging to Boaz, a wealthy man and a relative of Elimelech.

The phrase “her hap was” is almost humorous: the reader knows it is not chance but God’s quiet providence. Throughout the book God performs no spectacular miracles; he works through everyday decisions and faithful people.

Boaz greeted his reapers with a blessing: “The Lord be with you.” They answered: “The Lord bless thee.” When he saw Ruth, he asked who she was. Learning that she was the Moabitess who had returned with Naomi, he spoke kindly to her: he asked her not to go to another field, ordered his young men not to trouble her, let her drink from their water and eat with his reapers, and even told them to let handfuls fall on purpose for her. Ruth, surprised, asked why he favoured her, a foreigner. Boaz answered that he had heard all she had done for her mother-in-law, and blessed her:

“The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.”

Ruth 2:12

The kinsman-redeemer

When Ruth returned with about an ephah of barley, Naomi recognised God’s hand: Boaz was one of their near kinsmen, one with the right to redeem. In Israel’s law, the goel or kinsman-redeemer was responsible for rescuing a relative in need: buying back land that had been sold, freeing him if he had been sold as a slave, or raising up offspring for a relative who had died childless, so that his name would not be lost.

When the harvest ended, Naomi advised Ruth to make a bold gesture according to the customs of the time. Ruth washed, dressed and went by night to the threshing floor where Boaz was winnowing barley. When he fell asleep, she lay down at his feet. At midnight Boaz woke with a start, and Ruth said: “I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman” (Ruth 3:9). It was a request for protection and marriage. Boaz blessed her for her virtue and promised to act, although there was a nearer kinsman with prior right.

At the city gate

The next morning Boaz sat at the city gate, where legal matters were settled, and gathered ten elders as witnesses. He put the case to the nearer kinsman. He was willing to redeem the land, but when he learned he must also marry Ruth and raise up offspring for Elimelech’s family, he declined, fearing to mar his own inheritance. As a sign, he drew off his shoe and gave it to Boaz, according to the custom of the time. Boaz redeemed the land and took Ruth as his wife.

From Ruth to David

God gave Ruth a son. The women of Bethlehem said to Naomi: “Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman… And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him” (Ruth 4:14-15). Naomi took the child in her bosom and became his nurse. The woman who had come home empty now had full arms.

The neighbours named him Obed. And the book ends with a surprising genealogy: Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. The Moabite foreigner became great-grandmother of Israel’s greatest king.

Places in the story

Interesting facts

Lessons for our lives

Loyalty reflects God’s love. God works in the everyday: there are no “coincidences” for those who trust him. Honest work is dignified. Generosity transforms lives: Boaz went beyond what the law required. God welcomes foreigners: his people are open to all nations. God can turn bitterness into joy: Naomi came back empty and ended with full arms.

On the road to Jesus

Boaz is one of the most beautiful figures of Christ as our Redeemer. To redeem, the goel had to be a relative, have the means to pay the price and be willing to do so. Jesus became our kinsman by becoming man, paid the price with his own blood and did so willingly out of love. Like Ruth, foreign and poor, we were far from God; in Christ we have been welcomed, redeemed and made part of his family. And as Ruth took refuge under the wings of Israel’s God, we find our refuge in Christ. From the line of Ruth and Boaz came David, and from the line of David came Jesus, in the same town of Bethlehem.

In the next episode we will meet Samuel, the last judge and the prophet who anointed Israel’s first kings.

Prayer

Lord, thank you that, as Boaz did for Ruth, you have redeemed me in Jesus Christ. I take refuge under your wings. Give me a heart loyal like Ruth’s, generous like Boaz’s and trusting even in bitterness, as Naomi learned. Thank you that you work in the everyday and that your people are open to all nations. Amen.