The Book of Ruth is so poignant and meaningful, I decided it needed it's own post, even though it's only four chapters long. There are so many strong, fabulous women in the Old Testament, but Ruth is one of only two women who have a book named after them.
The background of the story is described as such: It is the days of the judges, and there is a famine in the land. A man named Elimelech (an Israelite from Judah), his wife Naomi, and their two sons - Mahlon and Chilion - go to Moab. (Now we must remember that Moabites are not on the up & up with the Israelites.....). Elimelech dies, and Mahlon & Chilion take Moabite wives, who are named Ruth and Orpah. They remained there ten years, and then Mahlon & Chilion die also, leaving Naomi widowed, without her sons, and leaving her daughters in law widowed as well.
So Naomi prepares to leave Moab, having heard that God has blessed Judah (where she was originally from) with food. But then Naomi tells Ruth & Orpah, "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!"
To put it simply, Naomi doesn't see any hope for them in Judah. At least in Moab, the girls could perhaps find some security and compassion from their own parents. It wasn't easy in that culture for widows to get by, unless they had a next of kin to marry them. (remember the man who gets his sandal taken off!!!) They would have zero social status, work their fingers to the bone for every meal, and on top of that - be entering Judah not only as widows without hope, but as MOABITE widows without hope.
The daughers in-law tell Naomi that they will go with her. She once again pleads with them, reminding them that she has no more sons for them to marry. There is much weeping, and Orpah kisses Naomi and leaves. Naomi beckons to Ruth to do the same, but Ruth "clings" to her and says the following - which, honestly, I doubt if the full effect is really conveyed, this is a VERY strongly worded bit -
"Do not urge me to leave you or 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."
What's really profound about this is that Ruth is embracing another culture, religion, a whole new set of laws, in addition to facing an uncertain future due to being widowed. What I can only assume is that Ruth has gleaned some kind of inspiration from her time with this Israeli family, and her desire is to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob..... And also that she must really love Naomi.
As it were, Naomi does in fact have a relative on her husband's side who may act as "redeemer" for Ruth. The scripture doesn't say why this didn't occur to Naomi previously. I suppose it could be any number of reasons. Perhaps she had mistakenly heard that he was married or that he died. Maybe her husband didn't speak of him often and she simply forgot about him. It doesn't say....
What it does say is that in Judah, Ruth goes out to "glean" in the fields. What this means is that servants are harvesting (in this case, it's grain), and Ruth is going along behind them, picking up bits off the ground.( God commanded Israel to leave these bits on the ground for the poor, so that none of Israel would go hungry, so what she is doing is not stealing, but would definately be a sign that she is needy.)
Ruth "happens" to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz (Naomi's husband's relative). He is a good man, and we see him blessing his reapers: "The Lord be with you!" and they bless him back. He asks one of them who Ruth is, and they explain that she is the young Moabite woman who came back from Moab with Naomi, and that she asked permission to glean in the field, and has worked very hard all day doing so. Boaz arranges for her to safely glean without being bothered by the servants, and provides for her access to water. Ruth falls down and asks him why she has found favor in his eyes, being a foreigner. He says that he has heard all she has done for her mother in law, and that she has come from everything she knows to an unknown land.... And he blesses her, saying, "The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" He feeds her supper, gives her extra food on top of what she gathered. She heads home to Naomi and reports of what happened during the day. Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz is a relative, and a possible redeemer. Ruth continues gleaning in Boaz's field through the barley and wheat harvests.
And so, one day, Naomi says these words to Ruth: "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?" She wants Ruth to find rest and a better life with Boaz. She tells Ruth to wash, anoint herself (perfume, I would assume), put on her cloak, and go down to the threshing floor, where Boaz is. To wait until he has finished eating & drinking before appearing to him.... That after he has laid down, to uncover his feet, and that from there, he will tell her what to do.
Now, this part can seem a little fishy. From first, second, and third glance, I really thought that Naomi was asking Ruth to seduce Boaz. That's not the conclusion I came to, after much thought and study. I think what's really going on here is that Ruth is making a big statement to Boaz. In essence, asking him for redemption. Symbolically, I believe this points to lying ourselves/our burdens at the feet of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Ruth obeys Naomi. Boaz wakes up at midnight, and finds Ruth lying there. He asks her who she is, and she responds, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer."
The symbolism doesn't end there, though. Boaz has a price to pay in order to redeem Ruth. He must purchase all the land which was owned by Alimelech, Mahlon and Chillion from Naomi. There is another relative who is closer in relation than he, so he visits him in front of witnesses to ask and see if he will act as redeemer. But the other relative wants the land, but does not want the Moabite wife, Ruth. So Boaz pays the purchase price, and redeems Ruth, just as Christ paid the price to be our Redeemer.
I like this stained glass depiction of Ruth & Boaz. They look tired, and I bet they were, after a long day during harvest season. Barley harvest was an exciting time for Israel, and even had a related feast which they celebrated. Nonetheless, it must have been alot of hard work...
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