#72. Ruth 1-4 | A Son Trained By His Mother to Show Hesed Love Meets the Original Proverbs 31 Woman

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This is a dwelling place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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In this episode, we'll be discussing

one of only two books of scripture

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to be named after a woman, and this

woman was not even an Israelite.

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Today, I'll give an overview

of the book of Ruth and share

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why this book is so important.

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We'll read a portion and then

of course, I'll pray over you.

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The name Ruth likely comes from a

Moabite word, meaning friendship.

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The author of this book is

anonymous, but Jewish tradition

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has always attributed it to Samuel.

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And he would've written it

after David was chosen as king.

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That seems realistic because David

is mentioned in the genealogy at

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the conclusion but Solomon is not.

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Not only is this a historical book of

the Bible, it is literarily excellent.

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The Moody Commentary says what

the Mona Lisa is to paintings.

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Ruth is to literature.

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It takes place while the judges ruled

and there was a famine in the land.

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There's not a famine recorded in the

book of judges, but it seems it would

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best fit during the judgeship of j.

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From about 1126 to 1105 BC and the time

span of the Book of Ruth covers 11 to

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12 years my MacArthur commentary says,

there are seven major themes that emerge.

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And I'll read this to you because there

is a lot packed into this little book.

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And don't worry, I'll put this

list in the show notes first.

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Ruth, the Moabite illustrates that

God's redemptive plan extended

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beyond the Jews to Gentiles.

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Second, Ruth demonstrates that women are

COHEs with men of God's salvation, grace.

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third.

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Ruth portrays the virtuous

woman of Proverbs 31 fourth.

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Ruth describes God's sovereign and

providential care of seemingly unimportant

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people at apparently insignificant times,

which later prove to be monumentally

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crucial to accomplishing God's will.

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Fifth Ruth, along with Tamar

Rahab and Beth Sheba stand in the

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genealogy of the Messianic line.

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Sixth Boaz as a type of Christ

becomes Ruth's kinsman redeemer.

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Finally, David's right and thus

Christ's right to the throne of

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Israel is traced back to Judah.

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One of the challenging aspects of the Book

of Ruth is that it's elevating a Moabite.

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Let's rewind a bit to recall

just how this nation came to be.

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After Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed

in Genesis 19, remember how lot's

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daughters had that horrible idea to

continue the line with their father?

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Well, Moab began with his oldest daughter.

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And then do you recall Balik who tried

to get Baam to curse the Israelites?

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He was the king of Moab.

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Then judges three told us that

Moab oppressed Israel for 18 years.

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These are longstanding

enemies of the people of God.

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And if you have a really good memory,

you might be thinking, wait, didn't

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God say in Deuteronomy 23 that Moabites

were not allowed to enter the assembly

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of the Lord for 10 generations?

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How is Ruth doing this?

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the timing when Ruth arrived on

the scene actually allowed her to

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be at least 11 generations later.

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The first chapter shows us that

Naomi and her husband, Alec, whose

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name means my God is king, went

to Moab during the time of famine.

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Their sons Melan, and Killian meaning

sick and pining went with them.

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Perhaps it was compromising their

faith to go looking for food in

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the land of Moab, and that seems

likely because they allowed both of

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their sons to choose Moabite Brides.

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Sadly, a Leuk Naomi's husband dies

and then so do both of her sons.

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She is left with two daughters-in-law and

decides she'd like to return to Israel.

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She encourages the young women to

go back to their families of origin,

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and both Opa and Ruth resist.

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Here's a little tidbit

of pop culture for you.

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I once read that Oprah Winfrey's

parents intended to name her Opa

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after this character in the Bible,

but someone accidentally misspelled

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her name incorrectly on her birth

certificate, thus she became Oprah.

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In any case, OPA finally relents

and decides to stay in the land of

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Moab, but Ruth instead utters this

infamous phrase from chapter one.

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Do not urge me to leave you or

to return from following you.

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For where you go, I will go and

where you lodge, I will lodge.

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Your people shall be my people and your

God, my God, where you die, I will die.

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And this evidence is Ruth's

complete conversion to Yahweh.

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So.

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Naomi takes Ruth to Bethlehem.

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It's quite possible she's been worn

down from these 10 years of stress

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because her people question is this.

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Naomi, although God's name is not

frequently mentioned in Ruth, his

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providence and sovereignty is all over.

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In fact, right away when Ruth goes

to gather food, knowing the promises

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of Deuteronomy, that the people were

commanded to leave enough for the poor.

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She finds out that she's gleaning

in the field of Boaz, who happens

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to be a relative of Naomi.

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And here's what happens when

Boaz approaches the field

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In chapter two, beginning in

verse four, and behold, Boaz came

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from Bethlehem and he said to the

Reapers, The Lord be with you.

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And they answered The Lord bless you.

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Then Boaz said to his young man

who was in charge of the Reapers,

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whose young woman is this?

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And the servant who was in

charge of the Reapers answered.

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She is the young Moabite woman who came

back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

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She said, please let me glean and gather

among the Sheaves after the Reapers.

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So she came and she has continued

from early morning until

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now, except for a short rest.

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Then Boas said to Ruth, now listen,

my daughter do not go to glean in

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another field or leave this one,

but keep close to my young women.

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Let your eyes be on the field that

they are reaping and go after them.

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Have I not charged the

young men not to touch you?

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And when you are thirsty, go

to the vessels and drink what

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the young men have drawn.

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Then she fell on her face, bowing to the

ground and said to him, why have I found

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favor in your eyes that you should take

notice of me since I am a foreigner?

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But Boaz answered her all that you have

done for your mother-in-law since the

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death of your husband has been fully told

to me and how you left your father and

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mother and your native land and came to

a people that you did not know before.

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The Lord repay you for what you have

done and a full reward be given you by

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the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose

wings you have come to take refuge.

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Boaz continues his kindness to her.

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He's referred to as a man of valor, and

Ruth's character is elevated as well.

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In fact, there are about eight clear

similarities between Ruth and the

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woman described in Proverbs 31.

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The parallels are so evident

that some believe the chapter

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may have been written about her.

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What I find most fascinating about

Boaz is that some believe his

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mother was Rahab, you know, Rahab,

the prostitute from Jericho.

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And if that's true, it makes absolute

sense to me that he would be a

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man who would not cast anyone off

because of their upbringing, their

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nationality, or their position in life.

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If his mother was Rahab, I bet

she thoroughly trained her son to

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see and encounter everyone with

kindness and respect to teach him

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that the God of Israel is a God

who welcomes all into his kingdom.

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And so when we get to chapter three,

and Naomi encourages Ruth to take off

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her garments of mourning, and to cleanse

herself, put on her best outfit and

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reveal that she's ready to be remarried.

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She goes, and according to the

custom of the day, and without a

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hint of immorality, she makes Boaz

aware that she would like for him to

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become the family's kinsman redeemer.

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And I think Boaz may have been trained

by his mother to assume the best about

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people and to not only care about

appearances, but to care about the heart.

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He has seen the pure hearted

devotion and diligence of Ruth.

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And he determines he would be

honored to become her husband

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as it's the dark of night.

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He says to her in chapter

three, who are you?

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And she answered, I am Ruth your servant.

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Spread your wings over your

servant for you are a redeemer.

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And he said, may you be blessed

by the Lord, my daughter.

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You have made this last kindness.

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Greater than the first and that

you have not gone after young

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men, whether poor or rich.

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And now my daughter, do not fear I

will do for you all that you ask for.

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All my fellow townsmen know

that you are a worthy woman.

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And now it is true that I am a redeemer.

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Yet there is a redeemer

nearer than I remain tonight.

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And in the morning, if he will

redeem you, good, let him do it.

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But if he is not willing to redeem you,

then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you.

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Boaz is a man of his word.

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He allows the near

relative to claim the land.

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And Ruth, if he would like.

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But as some would say in an act of

prejudice, he decides not to because he

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doesn't want to taint his family line With

a Moabite, a kinsman redeemer had to have

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a blood relationship and the resources

and willingness to buy the family's

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property and this man isn't willing.

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But Christ fulfilled all of these for us.

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In chapter four, not only do Ruth

and Boaz marry, but God opens Ruth's

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womb and blesses them with a child.

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This is notable because she

was married for 10 years.

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I and did not have a

child during that time.

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They named their son Obed and he

will become the father of Jesse,

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who will become the father of David.

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Making Ruth and Boaz the great

grandparents of the future, king David

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of Israel, and more importantly, they're

part of the Messianic line that Christ

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will come through a thousand years later.

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Throughout this book, there

is a theme of Hess love.

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It was the theme of one of

my best friend's weddings.

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It describes the loving kindness

and favor and grace of the Lord.

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It's how Boaz and Ruth treated others.

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And it's what we can display

and teach our kids to display.

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There was a medieval Jewish scholar

named Maites that defined Hesed

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as the doing of more good to one

than that to which he is entitled,

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we can teach our kids that everyone

has value before the Lord to look

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into eyes instead of screens alone,

to see people as made in the image

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of a God who loves them dearly, and

to be instruments to communicate

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the gospel to a watching world.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father, we are in awe of the

Hesed love displayed in the Book of Ruth

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and that you've displayed toward us.

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We thank you that even in

the midst of tragedy, you are

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working for our ultimate good.

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We understand that the gospel is

for everyone, and we humbly ask that

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you would use us to spread the news.

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That we all can be redeemed to

a right relationship with you.

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Help us to model for our kids

that others matter, and to be

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your hands and feet on this earth.

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Jesus, we praise you

for coming to redeem us.

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Amen.