In the last program, we started studying the book of Ruth and a woman named Naomi, who was the mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah. Naomi traveled with her husband and sons to Moab after they experienced hunger in Judah. Moab was a fertile land and the sons found Moabite women to marry.

We mentioned in the last program that Ruth and Naomi’s stories are very intertwined – we can’t mention one without the other. Even though we’re going to focus on Ruth, we will still mention Naomi.

As we’ve already said, Ruth was a young Moabite woman who didn’t follow God but had married with one of Naomi’s sons. Within 10 years of her marriage, she became a widow alongside her sister and mother-in-law. It’s interesting to see how Ruth reacted. She was young, beautiful, friendly, responsible, humble, and very affectionate towards Naomi.

“With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.’ Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud and said to her, ‘We will go back with you to your people'” (v. 7-10). We need to think about why these two would agree to go to Bethlehem with Naomi when they had their own families, their own land, their own mothers. Surely, the friendship they had created with Naomi over these 10 years was strong.

Because of what Naomi had said, Orpah decided to stay in her land with her family. She could go back and get married to someone else, because as a single woman at this time, she needed the protection of a man – a father, husband, or son. “At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. ‘Look,’ said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her'” (v. 14-15).

“But Ruth replied, ‘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. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, even if death separates you and me'” (v. 16-17). Ruth responds with this song.

At this time, when a husband and wife got married, they would sing their vows to each other. In this case, Ruth is singing her vows to Naomi. This is a beautiful song of faithful love. They are even more than mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, it’s more of a mother and daughter relationship. So Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth.

Ruth always paid attention to the advice of her mother-in-law and obeyed her. She went to the fields to work in a foreign land, because she didn’t have anything or any man to provide for her. Ruth spent her time gathering leftover barley in the fields of Boaz, who was a relative of Ebimilek, her father-in-law. She didn’t go directly to Boaz and tell him who she was, even though she had every right to. The law was that the closest male relative should “rescue” the land that was left for sale by a deceased relative. Naomi had land that Ebimilek had left and needed Boaz to “rescue” it so it didn’t leave the family – it served as protection and possessions for future generations. Boaz also had the obligation to marry Ruth; she hadn’t had children yet so it was important to continue the family line. Her husband died before they had a child, so there were no descendants.

Ruth didn’t go tell Boaz all of this, but she did go and tell Naomi who the owner of the field where she was working was. She was a hard worker, the first to arrive and the last to leave. Boaz recognized that and became affectionate towards her. He was curious and wanted to know who she was. After investigating, Boaz found out she was Naomi’s daughter-in-law. He instructed his workers to leave a little extra barley behind for Ruth.

Why were the workers to leave extra behind? The law of Moses said that foreigners, orphans, and widows could go behind the fieldworkers after the harvest to pick up whatever was left. The harvesters should leave something behind for the poor so they had something to eat. Boaz was complying with this law and instructed his workers to leave a little more behind for Ruth.

Ruth explained the situation to Naomi, and Naomi had a plan for Boaz to rescue their family land. It’s a little strange what Naomi tells Ruth to do.

Verses 3-4 of chapter 3 says, “Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

Ruth knows her mother-in-law wouldn’t tell her to do something immoral, so she obeyed. Boaz was also a virtuous man. When he sees her dressed beautifully, he doesn’t take advantage of her. Boaz knew there was another relative closer in the family line than him. Boaz tells Ruth in verses 12-13, “Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.” Boaz goes to the other relative, but he didn’t want to redeem Ebimilek’s land and family, so Boaz married Ruth.

Ruth was a faithful daughter-in-law and wife, for which God blessed her. She is in the family line of King David and Jesus. God doesn’t discriminate between people based on race, generation, or social status. Ruth was an obedient woman and was repaid through Naomi, who was able to help her care for her children and provide the future generations of this family.

Thank you, brothers and sisters, and may God bless you. We hope you join us for another installment of Women in the Bible.