Ruth and Esther — Unit 2

Please open with prayer that God examines your heart and teaches you through the course of this study today.

Class 2 Notes:

Chapter 1: Last week we began with an overview of the book of Ruth and looked at the first 2 verses of Ruth. Today we will cover the rest of chapter 1.

Observations:

1. We’ve already discussed the meanings of the names of the various characters as well as the significance of Moab and Bethlehem as the setting for our story.

2. Now Naomi’s husband dies first. Notice Elimelech dies, then after his death the two sons marry Moabites and they remain there 10 years. Clearly they have assimilated into the Moabite culture.

3. Orpah’s name means stiff-necked, stubborn.

4. Ruth’s name: means friendship, companion.

5. “Then,” Naomi’s two sons die and she is left in a dangerous position financially: a widow with two widows for daughters in law. No one to earn money, no food, and presumably no land/property except what they left behind in Bethlehem when they fled to Moab.

6. Naomi sees that Bethlehem is once again prosperous, and people are enjoying the first fruits of harvest. She decides to return to her homeland. This marks her repentance or returning home.

7. Keyword in this chapter: Repentance or Returning. Returning, repentant, broken and contrite of heart though broken and contrite are not synonyms of repentance as we discussed on Tues in Ted’s Acts class. In fact repentance and turning back are the major themes of this chapter. It is mentioned nine times here. How do we know that their fleeing to Moab wasn’t directed by God. First normally if it had been directed by God it probably would have been mentioned here. Secondly, we see a repentant and despondent Naomi. They are destitute and she is ready to return home where at least she can depend on the ability to glean in other’s field as a pauper in order to survive. Thirdly as we originally discussed, they had become a part of the Moabite culture. We have to understand that God’s prohibitions against mixing with other nations wasn’t racism but an attempt to protect the Israelites from assimilating and adopting the foreign culture’s gods. And God had rules keeping Moabites out of the assembly of the LORD (Deuteronomy 23:3). We don’t know that they adopted their pagan gods because clearly Ruth’s soliloquy shows her adopting Yahweh as her God.

8. Note Connective words here, “Then,” “Therefore” and “And.”

9. The “Lord” had visited His people: Yahweh, the formal name and title of the one and only sovereign God. Naomi still recognizes her God. This is important. Naomi still recognizes her sovereign God, though we will see later that she is in utter despair thinking that God has judged her by allowing all this to happen. Again, another key here that they didn’t go to Moab according to God’s direction.

10. And the two DIL’s started the journey with her.

11. Naomi tries to send them back. No doubt she is feeling the burden of having to feed herself and her two daughters. She is most likely utterly depressed. She doesn’t know how her Moabite daughters would be received in Bethlehem, but most likely not well. Remember there is no love lost between these two nations. To her credit though, we see that she asks them to turn back and find hope among their own people. She wishes them well. Clearly loves them and wants the best for them.

12. She asks for God to extend His kindness here. Another keyword throughout the book is introduced here: Kindness: translated as Loyal love or covenant love devotion and mercy. May the Lord (Almighty) deal kindly with you. She is asking for God’s grace and kindness, to extend to them. More deeply if we go back to the Hebrew here, She is extending God’s covenantal love to them for the kindness they showed to her and her sons.

13. She also wishes for them to find new husbands so that might find rest. Clearly life had been hard for them up to this point.

14. They all weep together. Obviously there was a great deal of love between these woman.

15. They continue to offer to go with her but Naomi meets them with logic.

16. She introduces the concept of the Levirate law here. This will become more important later. Here is what the Levirate law says taken from Deuteronomy 25: 5-10. We know from our study of the Pentateuch that God made great stipulations on how the Jews were to care for widows and orphans. There were rights for the poor to glean in the fields of others. So it is no surprise that the Levirate Law in Deuteronomy governed the care for a widow. As well it was not an uncommon practice in other ancient Near Eastern cultures. The Hittitites and the Assyrians also had accommodations for widows that differed slightly. The difference between the others and the Levirate Law is that there was negative judgment on the person who refused to take the role of marrying the widow and helping her to bare a son in the dead husband’s name in the Levirate Law.

17.What do we think of the statement “It is much more bitter for me than for you because the Lord’s hand has come out against me?” Naomi believes in the sovereign God, but also believes that He is judging her for her sins and she doesn’t want that punishment meted out upon her DIL’s.

18. Orpah honors Naomi in her obedience, but returns to her culture and her god’s.

19. Ruth honors her by staying with her, by adopting Naomi’s people, by adopting the one true God, by pledging her allegiance to Naomi even unto death. She denies her country, family, and gods to follow the one True God because of Naomi. What does this say about Naomi’s past guidance, teaching, and love to Ruth. Repentance once again. Notice how Ruth’s name for God changes. This seems significant to me She first says your God shall be my God. This is the name of God that translates as Elohim. And it can simply mean divine being or creator God, gods or goddesses and in fact was used by other people’s to refer to their god. But then she shifts to the Great I AM the proper name of the one true God when she says May the Lord do so to me and worse if anything but death parts Ruth from Naomi. She has made the transition from calling God ‘your God,’ to claiming Him LORD, I AM, her God.

20. It is the women of Bethlehem that recognize Naomi. The importance of women.

21. Naomi ironically says to no longer call her sweet, but Mara, bitter, because she is suffering God’s judgment upon her.

22. Irony: Bethlehem was empty, experiencing famine in the land, but Naomi was full when she left Bethlehem with Elimelech and her two sons. It seemed the world was her oyster. Now she returns when Bethlehem is full but her soul is empty. Food famine vs. Soul famine. She leaves during a food famine and returns with a soul famine.

23. But is she truly returning empty-handed because Ruth does in fact accompany her and she is returning during the barley harvest? Hope. So I would say there is hope at the end of this chapter.

Interpretation:

1. In light of what we know about God and how we should trust Him for our daily bread was Elimelech right to leave Bethlehem to travel into the enemy territory? When has that ever gone right for the Israelites?

2. So our story starts off as dismally as the book of Judges ends. It is the constant plight of the Israelites to trust God, then experience prosperity and turn their backs on him. Or to experience hardships and walk away from Him. But what do we know about God’s role when all of this is going on? Forgiveness is always ready when we repent.

3. God’s perfect will and permissive will? What does this first chapter say about that?God has always given us a choice from the moment Adam and Eve made the choice to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Consider the history of the Israelites? Consider how Jesus responds to the rich man who kept all of God’s commands but would not give it all up to follow Jesus? He always gives us the choice to follow and trust Him or to go our own way. This is why I think Elimelech and his family’s choice to leave the promised land and go to Moab was not God’s perfect will but His permissive will. And it is ultimately what leads our God to the cross.

4. What does this say about the consequences of poor decisions. Is Naomi right in assuming God is judging her, or could He simply be allowing her to suffer the consequences of her poor decisions. Have we in the past assumed rightly that we have a wrathful God who punishes us at every turn? For years I thought the God of the Old Testament was a wrathful God, many still do believe that. What do you think this story has to say about that. Could we possibly be blaming God for our stupidity, our pride, our desire to be in control of our own lives? Everything I know about God is that He is the God of love. Meting out His wrath is the last thing He ever wants to do. Look at Noah look at how He agonized with Abraham over destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. Look at how her tarries now. All my life as a Christian I was taught that the God of the Old Testament was a God of wrath. But what do we see here when Naomi decides to repent and return home? Hope

5. What happens when Naomi repents and returns to her homeland? He brings beauty from ashes. They first chapter ends with hope.

6. What does this passage say about God’s devotion to His chosen people and His promise?

Applications:

1. When have I taken matters into my own hands to supply my needs instead of trusting for God’s daily provisions? Plenty.

2. Oh, how many times have I felt like Bruce Almighty, when He blames God for all of His woes and asks God, “To smite me, almighty smiter.” It’s easy to get angry with God, blame Him or even someone else when things aren’t going our way. But like Naomi we can be bitter, and despondent, broken and contrite over what we have done and still trust that the Sovereign God will do what He must to bring us back into the fold. That is repentance. We are promised in Psalm 51:17 a broken and contrite heart God will not despise.

3. Can I be more like my dog who when he’s done wrong, comes immediately to me, sits, and looks up at me with eyes of absolutely contriteness, trust, and love?

4. What can I do to be more like a Ruth to my friends, who comes alongside in devotion, who becomes a bulwark for her friend and mother, and the method God uses to bring her blessing. In this day and age, there seems to be a sense of global depression. What David Brooks calls existential loneliness. The world is looking for a savior right now. I think people understand that our planet is dying. People understand that we have collectively raped and pillaged this planet. I think people are full of anger, bitterness, despondency, depression and fear and so this is time we can come alongside these people with a hope that will not disappoint. This is the time when we can come to them, not with judgment or condemnation and simply love them with the love of Christ.