Today’s reading is Ruth 1-3 but let’s go ahead and include all 4 chapters. The story is easy to read and undestand. Here are some of the key points that I see in the story of Ruth.

1. Naomi’s bitterness. First a famine in Israel where Naomi’s husband Elimelech had to see the family land. They move to Moab for a while, hoping things would get better. It only got worse. In about 10 years Naomi’s husband and 2 sons died, leaving her and her 2 daughters-in-law alone with no support. No wonder when she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth after the famine had eased, the people said “Can this be Naomi”? She probably looked pretty rough. She said, 1:²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, (which means “bitter”) because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” She is blaming the Lord for her misfortune. Many people become bitter against God b/c of tragedies and illnesses to either them or their loved ones. They blame God. They ask, “Why does God allow suffering, pain, and evil.” Many lose their faith in God. Hopefully the story of Ruth won’t end in bitterness.

2. Ruth’s loyalty. At Naomi’s urging, Orpah, the other daughter-in-law of Naomi left Naomi and returned to live in Moab . We can only wonder what the rest of her life was like. Did she marry again and have a child? Did she end up offering her firstborn to Molech, the god of the Moabites? What caused Ruth to pledge undying loyalty to Ruth: 2:¹⁶ But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” What had she seen in Naomi that caused her to want to follow Naomi’s God, Yahweh, especially since Naomi was blaming Yahweh for her misery? Ruth had to have seen something in the character and faith over the 10 years in Moab that made her want to be so loyal to Naomi in spite of Naomi’s bitterness. Loyalty is a fading virtue in our society today. AI: “Many relationships (including friendships and marriage), jobs, and social ties are treated as temporary contracts that last only as long as they offer mutual convenience or profit. Past disappointments in friendships, families, or workplaces lead people to guard themselves and pull back from deep reliance on others.” Most pledge “till death do us part” when they marry but the divorce rate is over 50%. Life-long friendships are rare. Many friendships are “you scratch my back and I will scratch yours”, or they are social but not very spiritual in nature and don’t last. There is little loyalty to local church families as members are constantly “shopping around” for a new church where they like the preaching or the worship service better instead of sticking with a church to make it better. I know there are times when you need to change churches for various reasons, but there is something to be said for loyalty to churches also.

3. The providence of God. Read chapter 2 again. Poor people could glean in any field that had been harvested, gathering anything leftover from the harvest. Ruth went to glean and just happened to pick the field of Boaz, a close relative to Naomi’s deceased husband. Boaz finds out who she is and showers her with kindness and protection. Was it a coincidence that Ruth picked the field of Boaz to glean? I don’t think so. This is the providence of God, providing for both Ruth and Naomi. 2:¹¹ Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. ¹² May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” ¹³ “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” She said, “You have put me “at ease”.” Ruth’s mind had to be stressed out over how she and Naomi could survive on no income. Gleaning would bring in some income, but it certainly would not secure their financial future. She had to be wondering if she would ever marry again and have a child. She had a lot to be stressed out and worry about. But the providence of God, using Boaz, set her mind “at ease”. When Ruth said that, she still did not have the answers to her long term problems and future uncertainty, but at least she had some peace of mind. Do you have a lot of stressors and difficulties you deal with? Is the future uncertain and worrisome? Do you find it difficult to have “inner peace of mind”? God will provide if you trust Him and give your loyalty to Him as Ruth did. Phlippians 4:⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” You can have peace of mind any time you are willing to completely trust God for all your needs and problems. Even if He does not make the problem go away, He will give you the strength you need to handle the problem.

4. Naomi’s creative problem solving. Even though Naomi was bitter about her own circumstances, her main concern was providing a home for Ruth, which meant marriage to a godly man who could provide for Ruth. Naomi’s solution? Go propose marriage to Boaz! “Go lie at his feet” which was a bold way of saying she was willing to marry Boaz if he would have her. Imagine Boaz as he was “startled” during the night at something at his feet, and it was a woman (not a dog or cat)! 3:⁹ “Who are you?” he asked (he knew Ruth but it was dark).“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me (a sign that Boaz would accept her marriage proposal), since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.” AI: “a guardian-redeemer (Hebrew: go’el) is a close male blood relative who has the legal duty and right to rescue a needy family member, buy back lost family property, and preserve the family line.” (Times Square Church) How far would this relationship with Boaz have gone without Naomi’s creative problem solving. We need creative problem solvers today. Many marriages are on the brink. Churches are faced with critical issues of how to spend the Lord’s money. Christian small business owners are faced with critical decisions. Mission works are trying to determine how to get the gospel out to the lost. Maybe you are facing difficult decisions. Ask God to give you some creative solutions, to help you think “outside the box”. Ladies, if you aren’t married yet, find a godly man that you want to spend the rest of your life with and go propose to him!!!!!!!! Don’t crawl into his bed at night, but propose to him.

5. Closing the deal. Boaz still had to go through the legal procedures of offering the kinsman redeemer privilege to someone closer relative than he was, but fortunately, that person turned it down. Boaz helped induce that rejection by reminding him that he would have to take Ruth as a wife as well as redeeming the land, which was pretty savvy. So Boaz closed the deal and married Ruth. 4:¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” The woman who was so bitter against God would have a grandson to love in her old age and a son-in-law to take care of Ruth (and Naomi’s financial needs). Family. That’s what it’s all about. Boaz and Ruth have a son, Obed. who would be the father or Jesse, who would be the father of King David! Jesus would come from the descendants of David. Ruth, the Moabite, would be in the seed line of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). Boaz closed the deal on the marriage but God closed the deal on getting Ruth and her descendants in the seed line of Jesus.

There is something in the story of Ruth for everyone reading it. Most importantly, it tells us how a foreigner, howbeit a godly foreigner, came to be in the seed line of Jesus. What if we had seen her name in Matthew 1:5 and not known anything about her. What great lessons we would have missed.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at these points on Ruth. Those points are about as creative as I can get!