For the Birds
The Short Story of Ruth
Ruth 1
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Summarizing the Story
The Setting
—Takes place in the time of Judges
The Characters
-Naomi (Pleasant)
- Ruth (Friend)
-Boaz
-Orpah
-Mysterious kinsman-redeemer who doesn’t get a name
Chapter 1 - Tragedy
Ruth 1:16-17
16 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.
Chapter 2 - Hope
Ruth 2:10
Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?
Deuteronomy 24:19
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Kinsman-redeemer -
Ch. 3 - The Plan
Ch. 4 - The Deal
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the[c] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 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.”
….
21 Boaz the father of Obed,
22 Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of David.
Here is what we learn from:
Naomi
- tragedy leads her to believe God is punishing her, but God is weaving together a beautiful story of redemption and restoration.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 30:11
You turned my mourning into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
Ruth
- Anyone can become a believer and experience the blessings of God. Loyalty and character are rewarded by God.
Orpah and mystery kinsman redeemer
- She takes the easy way out, and rightfully so, but she misses out on God’s blessing in this story. He takes the easy way out because of the risk involved.
Thus on the one hand, as in the case or Orpah, we may not pursue acts of sacrificial love and mercy on behalf of others because those acts don’t seem logical/ practical/ realistic. In other words, they don’t make sense. On the other hand, as in the case with the mystery kinsman-redeemer, we may not pursue acts of sacrificial love and mercy toward others because our motives are selfishly driven.
-K. Lawson Younger Jr, The NIV Application Commentary
Boaz
1) What Godly manhood looks like.
Strength is not found in testosterone but in your willingness to take responsibility and sacrifice to provide for and care for others.
2) Compassion and care to the foreigner.
3) The best fruit was produced in later generations.
Jesus - he is our true Kinsman-Redeemer
Small Group Questions:
What stands out to you about the way Samson’s life begins in Judges 13? How does this speak to the idea of being set apart or called by God?
Why do you think Samson struggled to live out his calling faithfully? What can we learn from his choices?
Judges 15 shows the cycle of revenge escalating. Where do you see that same cycle play out in your life or in our world?
How is Jesus’ response to pain on the cross different from Samson’s response to betrayal and loss?
Tim Keller says forgiveness feels like death, but leads to resurrection. Why is forgiveness so hard, and yet so powerful?
What’s one area of your life where you can choose the way of Jesus—humility, forgiveness, or trust—this week?