Gleanings from the book of Ruth

This summer I did a summary exegesis of the book of Ruth, based on the English text (TNIV and ESV). The tools were provided by our Hermeneutics professor, Jeannine Brown.

Book Outline

1:1-5 Famine and death: Naomi loses her husband and two sons in Moab

1:6-22 A glimmer of hope: Naomi returns to the land of Judah with Ruth

2:1-16 Abundant harvest: Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz, Naomi’s relative

2:17-23 Abundant harvest 2: Ruth takes her great gleanings to Naomi

3:1-13 Daring plan: Ruth follows Naomi’s instructions and requests redemption from Boaz

3:14-18 Abundant harvest 3: Ruth takes Boaz’s gift to Naomi

4:1-12 Naomi gains life: Boaz redeems Naomi’s land and marries Ruth

4:13-17 Abundant harvest 4: Naomi gains another son

4:18-22 Postscript: the genealogy links the patriarchs—through Ruth and Boaz—with King David

Plot Development

The historical setting of the book of Ruth (in spite of its title, the book seems to revolve more around Naomi; see LaCocque, Ruth, 6) is the days of the judges, a time when Israel had turned its back on God and “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). The geographical setting for a large part of the book is Bethlehem, “the town linked to the name of David” (Nielsen, Ruth, 2). A famine (caused by Israel’s sin?) forces Elimelech, Naomi and their two sons to move to Moab in order to survive. There, in the land of some of Israel’s worst enemies (see Numbers 22:4), Naomi loses her husband and two sons. In one brief paragraph, things are quickly going from bad to worse.

A glimmer of hope appears on the horizon when Naomi hears that “the Lord had visited his people and given them food” (1:6). Based on this news, she decides to return to Judah. She feels abandoned by God (1:13), and says bitter good-byes to her two daughters-in-law. But Ruth opts to stay with Naomi, thus aligning herself with Naomi’s people, Israel, and Naomi’s God (1:16). The reader sees more hope, but Naomi can only focus on her bitterness (1:20), even when she arrives back in Bethlehem after a 10-year absence, just as the barley harvest was beginning (1:22).

The setting for the rest of the book is Bethlehem, where the reader is introduced to the other important character in the story: Boaz. A wealthy land-owner and a relative of Naomi, he protects Ruth when she gleans in his fields, and showers her with food—almost more than she can eat (2:14) and carry (2:17). When Naomi discovers what has happened, her mood changes drastically (2:20). She devises a (risky) plan which will cause Boaz to take Ruth as his wife and thus preserve the family line. Ruth follows Naomi’s orders (3:6), and receives another large gift of grain from Boaz (3:15), along with a promise that he “will do for you all that you ask” (3:11).

There is another possible setback (another relative has first rights to buy Naomi’s land and marry Ruth), but Boaz devises his own plan to become the family guardian (4:3, TNIV). When Boaz succeeds, all the important people of Bethlehem wish the best for him and his (Moabite!) wife (4:11-12). Naomi is restored to life (4:15) when Ruth bears a son, Obed. Obed will be the grandfather of David, the promised king of Israel (4:17; compare Judges 18:1; 19:1; 21:25, “in those days there was no king in Israel”).

Themes

A. Famine/Abundance

The book begins with a literal famine in Judah (1:1), but there is also an existential famine for Naomi when she loses her husband and two sons (1:5). In the remainder of the narrative, the (implied) author shows how God works to abundantly supply Naomi with literal food (1:6, 22; 2:18; 3:17) and spiritual food (2:20; 4:15). The juxtaposition of Naomi’s bereavement (1:5) in the first lines of the narrative and the announcement that “the Lord had visited his people and given them food” (1:6) is a strong indicator that this will be an important theme for the author. This is reinforced when the reader learns that Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem “at the beginning of the barley harvest” (1:22).

Naomi experiences abundance through Ruth’s gleaning in the fields of Boaz. There, Ruth eats “until she [is] satisfied” (2:14, ESV; “all she wanted,” TNIV). Not only that, she has food left over! As if that were not enough, Ruth accumulates so much grain during the day that the reader wonders how a woman could even carry it back to Bethlehem (2:17)! The ESV marginal note describes the amount of grain as “3/5 bushel or 22 liters.” The TNIV note says “30 pounds.” Ruth then takes her overflowing harvest to Naomi (2:18), who remarks concerning Boaz, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead” (2:20, emphasis added). Through Naomi’s words, the reader understands that God has not forgotten about Naomi, and is working to abundantly provide for her needs. The contrast with Naomi’s prior pessimism is striking.

The abundant gift of grain shows up again when Ruth meets Boaz on the threshing floor, and she leaves with “six measures of barley” (3:15). Although the modern reader doesn’t have a notion of exactly how much this is, the repeated mention of the amount (3:17) is a signal that this is important. The author is also careful to show that the abundant gift from Boaz to Ruth is really for Naomi: “You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law” (3:17, emphasis added)! She is then able to feast instead of suffer famine.

Finally, the end of the narrative shows God giving abundant blessings to Naomi through the birth of Obed. The women of Bethlehem say, “He shall be a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age…” (4:14-15). The reader perceives that the women have become the true voice of the author. In another sign of abundance, they add that Ruth “is more to you than seven sons” (4:15). Seven is more than just a perfect number; it is abundantly more than the two sons Naomi lost in Moab! The abundant blessing culminates in the genealogy (4:18-22), orchestrated by God, which links the patriarchs with the promised King David.

B. Unmerited Kindness/Favor/Grace

Undeserved kindness appears at strategic points in the narrative of Ruth. The reader first sees this trait in the Lord, who caused the famine in the land of Judah to cease (1:6). If the famine was caused by the sin of Israel (a typical scenario in the book of Judges), God’s kindness appears here for reasons that are not apparent in the text. The reader is left to surmise that it is simply the Lord’s favor that has caused this unexplained change.

Ruth shows kindness to Naomi when she decides to stay with her mother-in-law instead of remaining in her home country of Moab (1:16-17). Again, the reader is left with no explicit reason for this behavior (it does not make sense in terms of Israel’s history of animosity toward Moab; see LaCocque, Ruth, 30)! Ruth’s kindness is emphasized by the author’s contrast between her attitude toward God and that of Naomi. Ruth adopts Naomi’s God (1:16), but Naomi is bitter toward the Almighty (1:20). The play on the meaning of Naomi’s name (pleasant) and her attitude (bitter) acts as a signpost to alert the reader to this contrast. Whom does the author want the reader to believe? The voice of Ruth, not Naomi! On a strictly human level, it is Ruth’s selfless act of loyalty to her mother-in-law that sets in motion the events of the rest of the narrative and results in the final redemption of Naomi and her family line.

When Ruth goes out to find food, she intends to “glean…after him in whose sight I shall find favor” (2:2). She finds that favor in Boaz, who protects her and showers her with almost more grain than she can carry (see above)! The extended dialogue between Ruth and Boaz (2:8-14) serves to highlight this favor. Ruth doesn’t understand why Boaz should be kind to a poor Moabite woman (2:10), but he explains that it is because of her kindness to Naomi (2:11). Here, the voice of Boaz becomes the author’s voice. Later, when Ruth tells Naomi about the day’s events, Naomi attributes the kindness of Boaz to the Lord (2:20)!

In the threshing floor scene, Boaz interprets Ruth’s submission to him (the family guardian) as an even greater kindness than her treatment of Naomi (3:10)! (To equate servanthood with kindness is—at least for 21^st century Americans—a novel idea! It would be interesting to see if this theme is echoed in other OT texts.)

The kindness of Boaz is also in focus at the end of the narrative, when he buys Elimelech’s estate and thus saves Naomi and Ruth. The fact that the closer relative refused to redeem Naomi’s family emphasizes the favor of Boaz (since the reader presumes that Boaz could do the same thing in order to preserve his interests).

Finally, God’s kindness to Naomi comes into sharp focus at the end of the story. He enables Ruth to conceive (4:13); he is the one who provided Naomi’s redeemer (4:14); he is the one who gave a son to Naomi (4:17). He is the one who fulfilled his promises to the patriarchs, through the line of Perez (4:12, 18), resulting in the birth of King David. The narrative is replete with human kindness, but the author wants his readers to realize that God is the ultimate source of that favor.

C. The real people of God

Throughout the narrative, the author refers to Ruth as “the Moabite” (1:22; 2:2, 6, 21; 4:5, 10). The readers clearly have not forgotten Ruth’s origin, so we wonder why the author places this kind of emphasis on her ethnicity. In light of Israel’s traditional animosity toward Moab (e.g., see Judges 3:14, Numbers 25:1-3), the original readers must have sensed a heavy irony in the story. Naomi, one of God’s chosen people, bitterly complains against the Lord (1:13), while Ruth, one of the “pagan” Moabites, pledges loyalty to Naomi’s people and Naomi’s God (1:16)!

Ruth the Moabite is also linked to Tamar (4:12), who is presumed to be a Canaanite woman (Nielsen, Ruth, 14). It is one more indication that God has deliberately chosen a “foreign woman [to be an] ancestress for David” (Nielsen, Ruth, 16).

Boaz invokes a blessing on Ruth that reminds the reader of similar blessings that were addressed exclusively to Israel (2:12; see also Genesis 15:1; 1 Samuel 24:19 may be significant in light of the author’s attention to David’s genealogy). She has taken refuge under the wings of the God of Israel! Thus, the reader is invited to think that God’s people are those who trust in him, not necessarily those who were born Hebrew.

Ruth, the Moabite, is acclaimed by all the inhabitants of Bethlehem as “a woman of noble character” (3:11). Boaz, a wealthy man, presumably could have married any woman he wished, but he chose a Moabite! And the author doesn’t stop there. Although Ruth is not mentioned in David’s genealogy (4:18-22), readers know that she was the mother of Obed (4:17). This makes her—a Moabite—part of the royal line of Israel! The author is clearly breaking some of Israel’s closely-held paradigms concerning the nature of the people of God! Nielsen sees Ruth as “a shining example of the foreigner who as a proselyte undertakes to live as the God of Israel requires” (Nielsen, Ruth, 32).

Summary

The author of Ruth meant to communicate that in the turbulent times of the judges God abundantly blessed a faithful Moabite woman and chose her to be part of King David’s bloodline.

Defense

The theme of God’s choice and blessing of Ruth, the Moabite woman, is one that may not carry much emotional impact for Americans, but it is difficult to overestimate the shock associated with the idea in ancient Israel. At the outset, the first readers would have marveled that an Israelite family would have settled in Moab in the first place (LaCocque, Ruth, 2). Moab, the father of the Moabites, was born as the result of incest between Lot and his oldest daughter (Genesis 19:37). Incest was a practice forbidden by the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 18:6). The very name Moab, which sounds like the Hebrew “from father” (see ESV margin, Genesis 19:37) reminded Israel of the Moabites’ sinful origin. Moabites were to be excluded from Israel (Deuteronomy 23:3-6; see Thompson, NBD, 776). According to the Targum to Ruth, marriage to a Moabite woman was punishable by death (Nielsen, Ruth, 18). Worship of the Moabite god Chemosh involved child sacrifice, an abomination to Israel (2 Kings 3:26-27). Military clashes between Israel and Moab were frequent, as early as the days of the judges (see Judges 3:12-30). In light of this historical enmity, the repeated mention of “Ruth the Moabite” and the blessings she receives from God throughout the narrative carry significant weight for the original audience. For ancient Israel, the idea that God would bless a Moabite woman—and then work through her to bless his people—is similar in contextual absurdity to Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan for first century Jews. Thus, Ruth’s positive qualities of loyalty (1:16-17) and submission (3:9) are in stark contrast to what Israelites had come to expect from Moabites. Ruth herself repeatedly expresses incredulity over the way she is treated by Boaz (2:10, 13); this is not normal behavior in Israel! God is clearly doing something new and wonderful.

The setting of Ruth in the time of the judges is not trivial, but crucial to the entire plot and purpose of the book. The era of the judges was dark and chaotic, even though punctuated with glimmers of hope. The final statement, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25, TNIV) is an apt description of an age of anarchy and suffering for God’s chosen people. That there should be “famine in the land” (1:1) would be no surprise for the original audience of Ruth. The suffering of Israel was clearly linked to its evil ways (Judges 3:7-8, 12; 4:1-2; 6:1). That God would bring redemption for Israel (King David, see 4:17, 22) out of Moab was totally counterintuitive!

Ancient Israel, rather than rejecting the story of Ruth, embraced it. In the Hebrew Bible it became part of the Writings and “was read annually by the Jews at the Feast of Weeks” (Beeching, NBD, 1030), a joyful harvest celebration. Far from denigrating David’s bloodline (4:18-22), the story of Ruth legitimates it. The author does that by reinterpreting the Genesis accounts of God’s choosing the patriarchs for his higher purposes (Nielsen, Ruth, 27-28). Readers make this connection as they hear the people of Bethlehem bless Boaz and Ruth (4:12): “Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” Tamar was most likely a foreign woman, just like Ruth (Nielsen, Ruth, 15). Tamar used deception to have a child by Judah, thus preserving the family line; Ruth and Naomi use a carefully crafted plan in order to save Elimelech’s estate and name through Boaz (Nielsen, Ruth, 16).

Relevant Implications

Although our situation is not as turbulent as that of Israel in the time of the judges, we sometimes feel that way. The world economic crisis has caused our missionary salary to fluctuate—mostly downward—and has put us in survival mode. The message of Ruth is encouraging: God is still working during seemingly chaotic times. His plans are not frustrated because of famine or war. On the contrary, God will provide abundantly for us, beyond what we ask or think.

Ruth also reminds me that God is an equal opportunity employer. He takes people who we ignore, and makes them part of his plan to restore the world. In the area of missions, this seems vitally important. A group of people thought to be untouchable by the gospel might be God’s next amazing front. We must not “write off” any people group.

Finally, Ruth convicts me that I am quick to make character judgments based on someone’s origin or appearance. God sees the heart, and he can transform “hopeless cases” for his glory.

Bibliography

LaCocque, André. Ruth: A Continental Commentary. Trans. K. C. Hanson. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004.

Nielsen, Kirsten. Ruth: A Commentary. Trans. E. Broadbridge. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1997.

Leftovers again?

Did you know that Jesus' miraculous multiplication of bread has an Old Testament counterpart?

I didn't realize this until I started working on a new project for the Vida Nova publishing house: checking and revising cross references for a new study Bible.

[Vida Nova already has a study Bible in its catalog, using a Portuguese translation licensed by the Brazilian Bible Society. The new study Bible will be based on a new translation prepared by our own team of Hebrew and Greek scholars here in Brazil, called the Almeida Século 21 (Almeida Century 21).]

Although painstaking, the work of cross references is fascinating. The New Testament was not written in a vacuum, of course. The Old Testament background is deep and essential to understanding the message of the Gospels, Acts and Letters. If you have any doubts, check out Jesus' encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: And beginning with Moses and the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:27, NIV)

So where is bread multiplied in the OT? Take a look at 2 Kings 4:42-44 (NIV):

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said.

"How can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked. But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.' " Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

See the similarities to the accounts in Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6? Even down to the incredulity of the servant and the leftovers! There is, however, an amazing difference in proportions. Elisha feeds 100 men with 20 loaves (5:1 ratio), but Jesus feeds 5,000 men with only 5 loaves (1,000:1 ratio)! Don't you get the feeling that God wanted to emphasize the fact that, in Jesus' case, You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased?

Passover Seder essential for understanding NT

Last night, on Easter Sunday, our pastor walked through the details of the traditional Jewish Passover meal, known as the Seder. It convinced me that every believer should have this experience. Why? When the reader has a grasp of the Jewish background, many parts of the NT leap from black and white into technicolor.

One example: During the Passover meal, Jesus breaks the bread and says, "This is my body, given for you..." The bread that Jesus used was the matsa (unleavened bread, to symbolize the absence of sin). It had first been broken into 3 pieces. Jesus then took the middle piece and broke it again. Traditionally, part of that broken middle piece was placed inside a white linen cloth and "hidden" in another part of the home. Later in the meal, that cloth would be "found" and the family would rejoice together. If this sounds a little like Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, you have caught the excitement of the early Jewish Christians, who realized the incredible symbolism in the Passover meal!

Routine stuff with God

Gabriel told astonished Mary that she was going to be the mother of a king. “Oh, and by the way, Elizabeth (who is old and everyone said would never have children), is six months pregnant. That’s because there will never be anything impossible with God.” (Luke 1.36-37, my translation)

Gabriel’s sweeping declaration has a familiar ring. It immediately took Mary (and the audience of Luke’s gospel) to a story she had heard many times before. Almost two thousand years earlier, in a tree-shaded tent, another incredulous woman was told she would give birth to a son. Elderly Sarah chuckled. Just like Elizabeth, she had long since lost hope of being a mother. The Lord reacted, “Why are you laughing? Is anything too hard (wonderful) for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:13-14, ESV). Of course not! was the implied answer. This is routine stuff for God.

Isaac’s arrival wasn’t just a pleasant surprise for Abraham and Sarah; it was God’s special delivery on his promise. Abraham would be the father of a great nation, and this would cause blessing for all peoples of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3). Could John’s and Jesus’ arrival also be the fulfillment of God’s promises to his people? This seems to be one of the important themes in Luke’s gospel.

The “nothing is impossible for God” motif has other echoes in Scripture. During Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem, God gives prophet Jeremiah a strange order. In the presence of witnesses, he should pay cash for a field which happens to be in territory occupied by the enemy! (This, after God had already told Jeremiah that Jerusalem will be overthrown.) Why would he throw away money like that? Jeremiah transmits God’s logic behind the plan: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (Jeremiah 32:15).

Then Jeremiah grabs some perspective as he worships God: “It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” (32:17). Sound familiar? Jeremiah’s prayer ends something like this: “You miraculously delivered Israel from captivity in Egypt and gave them a fantastic homeland. But they disobeyed you and now they’re in a heap of trouble. You have told me that Jerusalem is going to be overrun by the Babylonian army, as a direct judgment of the people’s sinful behavior. And yet you tell me to invest in a field!” Talk about a depressed real estate market!

We hear Gabriel’s theme again when God answers Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (32.27). The implied answer is No! When things seem impossible for humans, God says, “Leave it to me.” In the face of certain destruction, God tells Jeremiah that he will bring his people back, cause them to live in security and will make an “everlasting covenant” with them. I’m sure this story was also on Luke’s radar as he wrote his gospel treatise.

We hear the familiar melody one more time in the OT. As he did with Jeremiah, God also told prophet Zechariah about the restoration of the remnant. Describing the future peace of Jerusalem, God says that elderly men and women will again sit in the streets, the same streets where boys and girls will play (Zechariah 8:4-5). “If this is marvelous in the sight of the remnant…should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts?” (8:6) Or, “If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant…will it also be too difficult in my sight?” (NASB). Again, the implied answer is No! Why? Because the Lord Almighty is speaking.

Now, as we return to Gabriel’s conversation with Mary, it seems that the melody has blossomed into a full orchestral arrangement: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

No impossibles with God

I had one of those “aha” moments on Sunday as I was looking at a familiar text in Luke’s Christmas story. When Mary questions Gabriel about her soon-to-be motherhood, the angel gives her a living example of God’s power: her relative Elizabeth, after a lifetime of barrenness, is also going to give birth. Then he raises the stakes: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37, ESV)

Since I started studying (and now teaching) New Testament Greek, I enjoy checking the Greek text whenever possible. What I saw in this verse was interesting. Behind the word “nothing” is the term rhema, which can be translated, depending on the context, as thing, object, matter or event. (For example, the same word appears in the following chapter, verse 15, when the shepherds decide to “go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.”)

But in the NT rhema is more often translated as word. And that is exactly what happens in the next verse, when Mary responds to Gabriel’s news. She says, “Behold, I am the servant/slave of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

So we have rhema used in two slightly different ways in the same context. It’s almost a play on words. The way I read the two verses, Mary's response is more significant because she repeats the word rhema (the same idea could have been expressed with another word). It is as if she is saying, "If no rhema is outside of God's power, then let his rhema be fulfilled in my life."

For those of us needing to experience more of the Sacred Romance, that sounds like a great place to start in 2008.

Stay tuned for a look at Gabriel’s inspiration for his sweeping declaration in Luke 1:37. (See the post labeled "Routine stuff with God".)