A Woman of Courage
“Entreat 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.” Ruth 1:16
The book of Ruth is an account that teaches moral lessons. Also, in it we have the founding of the family within Israel from which Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, would come. But the main theme of the book of Ruth is redemption. It is a true story with much symbolism. Almost every account of every person and situation in scripture is not an allegory, with the exception of parables, but they are real people who faced literal situations and, I believe, they all have a spiritual meaning as well. The book of Ruth is no exception.
The book begins with a family who lived in Bethlehem. The father’s name was Elimelech, his wife was Naomi, and they had two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Naomi means “pleasant one”, and she represents the nation of Israel. Elimelech means “my God is King”, and Naomi’s and Elimelech’s happy marriage in the land of Bethlehem (“house of bread”) represents Israel’s prosperity and blessing because of their faithfulness to the LORD. However, famine came upon their land, possibly because of Israel’s disobedience, and this family was forced to flee to Moab, a pagan nation. Their flight represents Israel’s worldwide dispersion. Tragedy struck when Elimelech passed away, and Naomi was left without a husband which represents Israel’s separation from the LORD.
Naomi’s two sons married into these pagan people. Moabites were descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, thus they were distantly related to the Jewish nation. The Moabites worshiped their god, Chemosh, by child sacrifice. It is not stated whether Mahlon (“sick”) and Chilion (“pining”) participated in idol worship, but Israelites were prone to worship the gods of those with whom they resided, so it is possible that these two men had become idol worshipers. After ten years in Moab, both of Naomi’s sons died. This Jewish mother had so many troubles and sorrows upon her, and her condition seemed hopeless, just as Israel’s condition did.
Naomi heard that the famine was over in Bethlehem, and there was food there. She decided to return, and the two daughters-in-law, Ruth, who represents the believing remnant which will turn back to God, and Orpah, who represents those who turn to idols, both agreed to go with Naomi. She didn’t hold out any promise for them to have a better life with her and told them to return to their people. Orpah did, but Ruth desired to stay with Naomi, accepting her people, her home, and her God. She took the step of faith that not only brought her in among the LORD’s people, but actually made her an ancestress of Jesus Christ.
Naomi changed her name from the “pleasant one” to Mara, “the bitter one” because she had not accepted things on faith but became bitter. When she and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, it was the beginning of barley harvest, signifying the end of the age. When that time comes, after the church has been glorified, Israel, like Naomi, with a believing remnant cleaving to her, represented in Ruth, will return to the land. Isaiah 10:21-22 says, “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though Thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return…”
Now that the two widows were in Bethlehem, they had to provide for themselves. Naomi remembered that one of her husband’s relatives resided in Bethlehem, and he was a very wealthy landowner. His name was Boaz which means “in him is strength”. Boaz was called a “kinsman redeemer”, and he symbolizes Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. When Naomi told Ruth about Boaz, she asked to go gather the grain that the reapers left behind so that the she and Naomi would have something to eat. Her desire to glean in the field of Boaz and find grace in his sight represents the longing of the remnant at the end time to seek after the Lord and find Him in grace. When Boaz saw Ruth, he took special notice of her, telling her that he had heard how kind she had been to Naomi. He invited her to eat lunch with him and his workers and told his workers to leave extra grain for her to glean.
There are several things to note about Boaz. He was the son of Rahab, the harlot who protected the two men who were sent by Joshua to spy out the land of Jericho and also a direct ancestor of Jesus. After he and Ruth married, they eventually became the great grandparents of David. Ruth, a Moabite, and Boaz, half Canaanite and half Israelite indicates that Jesus Christ descended from a blood line that was not totally Jewish. He is definitely a Messiah for all nations and all peoples. The Field of Boaz is where, tradition says, Ruth gleaned. Adjoining it is the Shepherd’s Field, where, tradition also says, the angels announced the birth of Jesus. According to these traditions, the scene of Ruth’s romance with Boaz, which led to the formation of the family that was to produce Christ, was chosen of God, 1100 years later, as the place for the heavenly announcement of Christ’s earthly birth.
Next time: Redeemed