Road Trippin With Rachael

Who?

Much like Rahab, Ruth is a fascinating character in scripture – so fascinating in fact that she has a whole book dedicated to a period of her life.  Much like Rahab, Ruth was not originally a part of the Hebrew people – she was a Moabitess. This was a big deal because she had married a Hebrew man, and the Moabites had a sordid history of sexual promiscuity that lead many a Hebrew man away from the covenant while they were dwelling in the wilderness. Although little is known of Ruth before the opening of the book that bears her name, she married a Hebrew man who later died. Both his father and brother also passed away while they were in the land of Moab, leaving their mother – Naomi – alone. 

When Naomi decides to return to Israel, having lost her family she at least wanted to be back in her own culture, and Ruth decides to honor her mother-in-law and follows her. Two women with no male protection had the potential to be a really dangerous situation, but with the return to Bethlehem, Naomi was known and would at least have people who would look out for her. The addition of a daughter-in-law meant that there was an able bodied person who had the possibility of providing food. Through a series of divine circumstances, Ruth gleans barley in Boaz’s field – who just so happens to be a kinsman redeemer for Naomi’s family.

We don’t have this concept in modern western culture, but during the time of Ruth, if a man died without children and left a widow, his brother would marry the widow and the first son they have together would receive the inheritance that would have been the brothers. It’s odd to us, but this was the cultural way to provide for a woman who had lost her husband and didn’t have a way to support herself. In teh event there wasn’t a brother, then the responsibility would fall to the next closest male relative of the widow’s husband. Ultimately, we see this played out throughout the book of Ruth, which is how she ends up with Boaz.

What Do We Learn From Ruth?

Once again, much like Rahab, we are able to see that the invitation to be a part of God’s people is open to everyone regardless of culture, socio-economic background, ethnicity, family of origin, or prior religious experience. Ruth’s character and her devotion to do the right thing, honoring her mother-in-law allowed her to be where God wanted her to be so that she was able to meet the person best suited to redeem the family and to take care of not only herself, but also Naomi. 

God takes care of his creation, and even when there are devastating things that happen, he is still taking care. It’s hard to see when we are in the midst of it, and we want to question why God has allowed the bad to happen. But we must always remember that we live in a broken world, and we have to live with the consequences of not only our own sins but the sins of others.