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Introduction

This book is named for its central character, who would become David’s great-grandmother. Perhaps after the dismal ending of the book of Judges, this heartwarming story – set during the same general time period – was the perfect book to follow.

The period of the judges was roughly 400 years. That was plenty of time for lots more to have happened than just what we read in the book of Judges. The United States is roughly 250 years old and think how much has happened that that much shorter period of time.

Ancient Jewish sources name Samuel as the author. (Modern Biblical Scholarship versus Ancient Biblical Scholarship)

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Ruth 1

Naomi Meets Ruth

Ruth 1:1 – We have life so easy comparatively speaking. This family experienced a famine. The famine was so bad, they not only had to leave their home (Israel) – they had to leave their country and wander around a neighboring one (Moab) for ten years just to survive. The geographic jostling reminds us of Jesus and his parents who had to move to Bethlehem, then Egypt, then Nazareth. #FJOT Jesus would become a descendant of this family, but not by its father – nor was He actually descended from Joseph either.

Ruth 1:2 – This family was from Bethlehem. Naomi’s descendants would one day include David and and after that Jesus – both of whom were born in Bethlehem. As for this family being “Ephrathites of Bethlehem,” consider this messianic prophecy from Micah which also connects the two. #FJOT

Mic 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”

Ephrathah (or Ephrath) might have been another name for Bethlehem or a part of Bethlehem (as Zion was both another name for Jerusalem and a part of it).

James Ussher estimates that the time span between Ruth and Jesus was well over a thousand years:

The events in the book of Ruth – 14th century BC
David’s lifetime – 11th century BC
Micah prophesies – 8th century BC
Jesus’ lifetime – 1 century AD

Ruth 1:14 – Naomi must have been a special woman given that both her foreign daughters-in-law wanted to stick with her after all their husbands died. As Ruth clung to Naomi, so we should cling to the Lord. #FJOT

Deut 13:4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

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Jer 13:11 ‘For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen.’

Ruth 1:16-17 – I say again, Naomi must’ve been something else! But then this statement says something about Ruth, too. What Ruth says here sounds like something a Shakespeare would write – and this is a Moabite.

Ruth 1:18 – When a matter is settled, it is good to leave it settled.

Ruth 1:20-21 – “Naomi” means “pleasant,” and “Mara” means “bitter.” Naomi was not a Pollyanna; she was clear-eyed about her situation. She wasn’t playing the victim and she wasn’t saying, “Woe is me.” She was just accepting reality.

Ruth 1:22 – Being a widow in ancient times was particularly burdensome. They had none of the governmental and social support mechanisms in place today.

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Ruth 2

Ruth Meets Boaz

Ruth 2:1 – Probably through Naomi, Ruth knew she could find food for the two of them because of this provision in the Law of Moses. ***** The provision applied to any field, but a blood relative could be expected to be supportive to a degree that a stranger might not.

Lev 19:9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Lev 19:10 ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.

Jesus’ disciples took advantage of this same provision in the Law.

Matt 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.

Ruth 2:8 – Boaz shows even more hospitality than Naomi had led Ruth to expect.

Ruth 2:11 – News in a small town traveled fast back then just as it does now. ***** Boaz seems as impressed with Ruth as we are.

Ruth 2:12 – Boaz is not a secular man; he’s unashamed to give glory to his God.

Ruth 2:13 – Ruth’s reaction demonstrates her humility. It must not have been pride month.

Ruth 2:14-16 – As opposed to the vicious circle we saw repeated in the book of Judges, here we see a virtuous circle: generosity met with gratitude generates more generosity which generates more gratitude which…

Ruth 2:20 – Boaz was not just showing kindness to “the living,” (Naomi and Ruth) he was also showing it to “the dead” (Elimelech and Mahlon) by showing it to “the living.”

Ruth 2:22 – Widows had more to concern them than just food; there was the personal safety issue as well.

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Ruth 3

Naomi Matches Ruth and Boaz

Ruth 3:1-4 – From all that has happened, Naomi perceives the opportunity to make a match between Boaz and Ruth. Naomi wisely formulates a plan and directs her daughter-in-law to follow it.

Ruth 3:5 – This is the way we should talk to Jesus. ***** Notice how Mary instructs servants at the wedding in Cana to adopt this attitude toward Jesus in John 2:5. Notice also how what Pharaoh says to Egypt regarding Joseph in Gen 41:55 foreshadows Mary’s direction. Matt 21:6 reinforces this same pattern, as do other verses. ***** “Whatever He says to you, do it”

Ruth 3:6 – Ruth is not the kind of person to just say she’s going to do things. She actually does what she says she will do.

Ruth 3:10 – All the key characters in this book are humble: Naomi, Ruth, and now Boaz. By the human standards of our day, all three of these people could be full of themselves, but they are not. Noami and Ruth could have played the victim, and Boaz could have played the big shot. These are examples we can learn from!

Ruth 3:11 – Wow, Ruth has already made a reputation for herself in town: “a woman of excellence.” Being associated with a person like Naomi probably gave her a head start on her own reputation.

Ruth 3:12 – Boaz and Naomi know their bloodlines. Remember that Noami said Boaz was “one of our closest relatives” (Ruth 2:20) – not the closest.

Ruth 3:13 – Again, the humility of Boaz shows through. He’s not going to compete or strive or try to finagle a marriage to Ruth; rather, he’ll graciously let the other fellow have Ruth if that’s the other fellow’s choice – because that’s the other fellow’s right by the Law of God.

Deut 25:5 “When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
Deut 25:6 “It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
Deut 25:7 “But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’
Deut 25:8 “Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’
Deut 25:9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’
Deut 25:10 “In Israel his name shall be called, ‘The house of him whose sandal is removed.’

There are some wrinkles in the Boaz/Naomi/Ruth situation. For one thing, Mahlon has no living brother to take his place. The Levites worked out various scenarios for fulfilling the Law of Moses – details which we do not have before us. Suffice it to say, there was a process to be followed.

Ruth 3:14-17 – The generosity of Boaz overflows. Reminds us of someone we know.

2 Cor 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

The word “grace” is another word for “generosity.”

Ruth 3:18 – Naomi knows determination when she sees it (Ruth 1:18).

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Ruth 4

Boaz Marries Ruth

Ruth 4:1-4 – Boaz is a wise man. He has done his homework and he goes into this meeting fully prepared for what must be addressed.

Ruth 4:5 – Boaz has thought the matter through and has a response prepared for the answer he just received. ***** The words “in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance” refer to a provision of the Law of Moses (Deut 25:5-10) that had precedence in the lives of the patriarchs, specifically Judah (Gen 38:8). In Matthew 22:23-32, this legal provision is presented to Jesus by the Sadducees, who used it to justify their argument against the idea of resurrection from the dead – which, of course, Jesus refuted both by word and deed. Beyond all this, these words also foreshadow how those who consciously live for the name of Jesus (“the deceased”) on the earth (for He is “the heir of all things” as Paul says in Hebrews 1:2). These words appear against in verse 10 below. #FJOT

Ruth 4:6 – Boaz has anticipated this response, too.

Ruth 4:7-8 – Moses wrote about this sandal business. It was mentioned in the Deuteronomy passage alluded to in Ruth 3:13.

Deut 25:5 “When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
Deut 25:6 “It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
Deut 25:7 “But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’
Deut 25:8 “Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’
Deut 25:9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’
Deut 25:10 “In Israel his name shall be called, ‘The house of him whose sandal is removed.’

Ruth 4:9-10 – Boaz has thought through what he wants to accomplish and so he knows what he wants to say in this moment. He handles the meeting so that its outcome will never be reasonably questioned. He has done everything by the book. And so it will stand.

Ruth 4:10 – As for the words from “in order to raise up the name of the deceased…” to the end of the verse, see the note on Ruth 4:5 above. #FJOT

Ruth 4:11 – Boaz now has himself multiple witnesses. This will result in the outcome standing ever firmer. And the well wishes of the witnesses have largely come true as the descendants of Boaz and Ruth – and one of them in particular – have made Bethlehem famous around the world even to this day.

Ruth 4:12 – Interestingly, it is the incident involving Perez, Tamar, and Judah (recorded in Gen 38) that established the precedent for the Deut 25:5-10 provision in Moses’ Law that called for offspring to be brought up in the name of a deceased father.

You and I are to take inspiration from all these things to raise our offspring not to ourselves, but as offspring to our deceased brother Jesus of Nazareth. #FJOT I want my children to live more for the honor His name than for mine. Don’t you feel the same way? Let this be the cry of American fathers to their children:

2 Cor 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.

Ruth 4:14 – Boaz was Ruth’s “redeemer” and his name became famous in Israel. Jesus is our Redeemer and His name has become famous throughout the universe, seen and unseen. In fact, He’s even better know in its unseen dimension than in its seen one.

Ruth 4:15 – Jesus is our “restorer of life” and our “sustainer” not merely of old age but of all ages through the eternal life He grants us.

In other words, Boaz was a type of Israel’s Messiah. (Types and Shadows of Christ) #FJOT

Ruth 4:16 – God has made two unemployed and impoverished widows into important and productive members of a wealthy family. (Ruth 2:1 said that Boaz was “a man of great wealth.”)

Ruth 4:17-22 – Here’s how Matthew includes this information in his genealogy adding a very interesting detail.

Matt 1:3 …Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
Matt 1:4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
Matt 1:5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
Matt 1:6 Jesse was the father of David the king…

The interesting detail is that the mother of Boaz was Rahab, the woman in Jericho who protected the lives of Israel’s spies (Josh 2:1-21; Heb 11:31; Jas 2:25). Jesus has such a rich earthly genealogy!

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