This Sunday,
July 23rd, we continue our five-week exploration of “Woman of Faith in the Bible.” During this study, we
will explore the life and faith of five women from the Bible: Miriam, Naomi, Ruth, Rachel, and Mary
Magdalene. We began this exploration
with Miriam on July 9th. Last week, Beth
Menhusen, our Associate Pastor, continued by examining the life
and faith of Naomi. This Sunday, July
23rd, I will focus on Ruth. Then, I will
round out our examination the following two weeks with Rachel and Mary
Magdalene.
The Book of Ruth in
the Hebrew Scriptures is a story of loss and redemption, as well as something
of an eventual love story between Ruth and Boaz. The story begins with a terrible famine which
ravages Israel. The famine is so severe
that a certain Hebrew couple, Elimelech and Naomi, decide to emigrate with
their two sons to Moab.
For a few years, the
Hebrew family seems to flourish in Moab.
However, tragedy strikes when Elimelech dies. After his death, Naomi and her two sons
remain in Moab. The two sons grow into
adulthood and eventually marry two Moabite women: Orpah and Ruth. After ten years, another tragedy occurs when
Naomi’s two sons die, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law.
The death of her husband and two sons is a profound loss for Naomi. In addition, to the emotional grief and loss,
Naomi is left without any family to support her. At this point in history, the government did
not provide social safety nets for those who were without a family or source of
income. This meant that widows and
orphans were especially vulnerable to poverty and hunger. So, without a husband or extended family in
Moab, Naomi faces a financially threatening future. At about the same time, she hears news that
the famine is finally over in her native home of Bethlehem. So, Naomi decides to go home to Bethlehem,
where she has extended family who can help her.
With Naomi’s encouragement, Orpah
returns to her family and their support.
By contrast, her daughter-in-law Ruth decides to stay go to Bethlehem with Naomi. In a famous verse from the Bible, Ruth
tells Naomi, “Where you go, I will
go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God
my God. Where you die, I will
die— there will I be buried.” (Ruth 1:
16b-17a)
Naomi
and Ruth arrive back at Bethlehem, just as the barley harvest is
beginning. Ruth decides to go out into
the fields to glean behind the men harvesting the grain. Gleaning is the process of walking the fields after the
harvest and gathering up stalks of grain that have been missed by the
harvesters. In addition, Jewish law prohibited
farmers from completely stripping their fields.
In addition to the grain missed by those harvesting, the farmers were
also supposed to leave grain at the edges of the fields for the “poor” and “resident
alien” so that they might not go hungry.
By
chance, Ruth begins gleaning on the fields of Boaz, who is a relative of her
deceased father-in-law, Elimelech. When
Boaz sees Ruth, he asks his foreman who she is.
The foreman replies, “‘She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from
the country of Moab. She said, “Please let me glean and gather
among the sheaves behind the reapers.” So she came, and she has been on her
feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.’”
(Ruth 2: 6b-7) Although it would be a
stretch to say that, when Boaz first saw Ruth, it was love at first sight. Nonetheless, Boaz is impressed. He encourages Ruth to glean only his fields,
and tells her that she can drink water from the vessels supplying his
workers.
At
this juncture, we would do well to remind ourselves that Ruth is a
foreigner. Even worse, she is a Moabite
woman. The Hebrew people looked
down upon the Moabites with contempt and loathing. The two peoples had a history of bickering,
hostilities, and shameful encounters. In
the Hebrew Book of Numbers, there is a story of the Israelites staying in the
land of Moab during the forty years spent wandering in the wilderness. During their stay in Moab, many Israelite men
began to have illicit sexual relationships with Moabite women. This led to some
of the Jews beginning to worship the false god of Baal. That is, the Israelites turned away from
worshiping and obeying Yahweh, the one true God, who had delivered them out of
slavery in Egypt. This apostasy angered
Yahweh and so the Hebrew leaders imposed a prohibition upon intermarriage with
Moabite women (See Numbers 25: 1-5).
Given this backstory, Ruth is
stunned at the generous treatment which she receives from Boaz. So, she falls prostrate before him and asks, “‘Why have I found favor in your sight,
that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?’” Boaz answered her, ‘All that you have done
for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me,
and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a
people that you did not know before. 12May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full
reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for
refuge!’” (Ruth 2: 10b-12) Later during
the day, Boaz invites Ruth to eat in the field with him and his
workers.
When she hears from Ruth
about how friendly and generous Boaz was in the fields, Naomi begins to hope
against hope that a romance will develop between Boaz and Ruth. Throughout the rest of the harvest, Ruth gleans
only in the fields of Boaz. Yet, the
romance between Boaz and Ruth stalls and goes dormant. As the harvest was ending, Ruth and Naomi concoct
a plan to re-kindle Boaz’ interest in Ruth.
Knowing that Boaz will be at
the threshing floor winnowing his grain well into the night, Ruth washes and
anoints herself, dressing in her finest clothes. At night, she makes her way down to the
threshing floor. When the work is
completed and all of the grain has been winnowed, Boaz eats and drinks,
celebrating the harvest with his workers.
After Boaz was filled with food and perhaps a bit too much wine, he
stretches out beside his crop to sleep.
The next passage is very
difficult to interpret. It is filled
with puns, word-plays, and double entendres.
The text says that, after Boaz falls asleep, Ruth silently approaches
him and uncovers his “feet” and lays down beside him. However, Biblical scholars note that in the
Hebrew language, “feet” may be a euphemism for genitals. That is, Ruth uncovers more than just the
feet of Boaz.
Around midnight, Boaz
awakens to find his “feet” uncovered and Ruth lying beside him. Ruth reassures him, by telling him that she
is his servant. Then, she tells Boaz to “spread
his cloak” over her. Again, in Hebrew, to
“spread his cloak” has a double entendre.
It may be a euphemism for having sex, or it may be understood as a
marriage proposal from Ruth. In the
verses that follow, Boaz agrees to marry Ruth.
(see Ruth 3:6-13)
In the fourth and final
chapter of Ruth, Boaz follows through on his promise to marry Ruth. Then, the Book of Ruth concludes by noting
that Ruth and Boaz married and lived happily ever after. They had a son, Obed, who was the paternal
grandfather of the great King David.
Although there are a great
many interpretive difficulties, the Book of Ruth can be read as a fun, romantic
story of Ruth and Boaz, with a happy ending, including Naomi, who is blessed
with a grandson, Obed, to continue the lineage of Elimelech.
At the same time, the story
of Ruth offers important guidance for persons of faith who live in the United
States in the year, 2017. One of the most
important themes running throughout the Book of Ruth is the treatment of
foreigners by the people of Israel, God’s Chosen People. Ruth was not just a foreigner, she was a Moabite
woman. It would be natural for the
Hebrews to view Ruth with suspicion, hatred, and loathing. The history of the Hebrews’ interaction with
Moabites was marred by the Moabite women’s tempting the Jewish men to sin. One could also imagine the possibility of
other gleaners in the field—perhaps poor Hebrews—complaining about that “dirty
Moabite woman” taking away the grain, which God intended for them.
In 2017, one cannot read the
story of Ruth without reflecting on the cruel and harsh changes to immigration
policy instituted by the Trump Administration since the Inauguration. For persons of faith, the story of Ruth
offers a powerful corrective vision of our responsibilities to welcome and care
for the stranger within our midst.
A second important theme
running throughout the Book of Ruth is her strength and independence as a
woman, living in a patriarchal society.
Throughout the Book, Ruth never gives up. She is willing to stand up for herself. In the First Chapter, she is determined to
accompany Naomi to Bethlehem, despite Naomi’s encouragement that she stay with
her family in Moab. In the Third Chapter, it is Ruth who proposes to Boaz; she
does not wait timidly for Boaz to get around to a marriage proposal! The Book of Ruth champions and celebrates
strong, independent women as part of God’s plan for humanity.
If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a place of
worship, then I invite you to come and join us this Sunday, July 23rd. Christ United Methodist Church is located at
4530 A Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. During
the proclamation at our 8:30 am worship service, we will reflect on the life
and faith of Ruth. However, our 11am
will be devoted to a celebration of our church’s Vacation Bible School, and I
will not be preaching on Ruth.
Come and join us. Everyone is welcome and accepted because God
loves us all.
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