Ruth: Part 1

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Welcome! To Our Ancient Future Story: Navigating Scripture Through the Eyes of Family. Where I share with you, Biblical stories, as a family member would tell a story around the dinner table. As children of God, we are a part of God’s family, and His family story has a lot of history. Each week, we will take one story and talk about it, the cultural, historical, geographical, and sociological impacts. We will be looking at these stories from the perspective of our ancestors, through the lens of ancient times, in hopes of learning more about our family. This is Our Ancient Future Story. 

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WELCOME: 

Welcome back to Our Ancient Future Story, I’m Vic, and I am so excited to share with you another story today! I know it has been a long time since we have stepped into the pages of History together. But I am excited to be back with you with a new story. Over the next few weeks, we will be walking through the life and book of Ruth. 

Ruth is a fairly well-known character. She is known for being a Moabite who became the daughter in law of Naomi. She is often quoted “Where you go, I’ll go. And where you Stay, I’ll stay.” And she has this wild love story that ends with her becoming the great-grandmother of King David, and in the direct family Line of Jesus. 

Today, we are just going to begin her story, and then over the next few weeks we will dive into the rest of her story. I hope you’re ready! I’m excited to share her inspiring life, and I hope that as we dig into her story, we may see more than we ever had before! 

So, sit back, grab your cup of coffee or something to drink and get ready to hear the story of Ruth.

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GENEALOGY

            We are going to start by catching us up in the Family timeline from Abraham to Naomi’s husband, Elimelech. Abraham married Sarah, and they had a son named Isaac. Isaac married Rebecca, and they had twins, Jacob and Esau. Jacob ran away to his uncle’s house, after stealing the birthright from Esau. There Jacob, got burned by the birthright, when he married Leah, the oldest sister, before Rachel. Together the three of them had the 12 sons. Now known as the 12 sons of Israel. 

            Their fourth Son’s name was Judah. Judah had a son named Hezron. Hezron had a son named Caleb. Caleb had a son named Hur. Hur had a son named Salma, whose son was Bethlehem. And from this line Elimelech was born. 

            Elimelech married Naomi and they had two boys, Mahlon and Chilion. And this is where our story begins. 

TELL THE STORY:

Our story opens with the line “In the Time of the Judges…” The Judges ruled Israel after the death of Joshua but before the kingship of Saul. This immediately lets us know what time frame we are looking at. Some scholars have joked that this time was like the Wild West. It makes a good movie, but you wouldn’t want to live there. During this time Israel had 13 judges starting with Othniel and ending with Samson. Each Judge story follows this ebb and flow pattern, of Leading the hearts of the Israelites away from God, Israel gets overtaken by a surrounding enemy, the people of Israel crying out to Yahweh to save them, Yahweh raising up a leader who defeats the enemy and rules as Judge, The people follow Yahweh all the days of this leader’s life, but once they died, the people of Israel began doing evil again in the eyes of God, and the cycle starts over. 

            This is the backdrop for Ruth’s Story. 

Judge Ehud was ruling and not following the LORD. There was a famine in the land, so Elimelech took his family to Moab. But while they are living there, Elimelech dies. Mahlon and Chilion both take wives from the people of Moab. Chilion marries Orpah and Mahlon marries Ruth. And together they live in Moab for about 10 years. 

But then tragedy struck again, both Mahlon and Chilion die, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah widowed and without hope. Naomi gets up to head back to Bethlehem, because she had heard from the fields of Moab that Yahweh had given food to his people. Her daughters in law got up to follow her, but she stops them  prepared for a quick goodbye. She thanks them for the kindness they have shown her, especially in her grief. 

Then she kissed them, and they wept together. Naomi then begs them to return to their mother’s house, so that they can be taken care of. She asks, “would you wait around for another child of mine? Even if I became pregnant today, would you wait until they were grown? No, don’t follow me, go home to your house.” Orpah kissed Naomi and headed to her mother’s house. But Ruth, clung to Naomi. 

Ruth looked at Naomi, her mother-in-law and said these famous words: 

Where you go, I will go

Where you stay, I will stay

Your people, will be my people

Your God will be my God.

Where you die, there I will be buried

May the Lord do so to me, and do so severely  

if anything but death separates me from you”

[Historical Fun Fact: It’s important to note that Moabites did not solely serve Yahweh. They also served other Canaanite gods like Baal, and Asherah in addition to Yahweh. So here Ruth is agreeing to denounce of her gods and serve only Yahweh. That was huge in this time! No one did that! They would just add the new god to the gods they were already serving. But Ruth choosing to follow Yahweh was more than just staying with Naomi, she was committing to a life of an Israelite.] 

Naomi seeing that Ruth was determined, agreed to let Ruth join her back to Bethlehem. 

When they arrived back in Bethlehem the town was a buzz about Naomi’s return. But Naomi was not feeling partying vibe. She told the people of the town, “Do not call me Naomi, which means Pleasant One, instead call me Mara, which means Bitterness, because even though I left full, I return bitter and empty.”

Ruth and Naomi reach and try to settle in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. 

And that is where our story ends for today. A bitter Naomi, full of grief and pain, her daughter in law Ruth a Moabite, both widowed and no hope for the future. But the story isn’t over. There is a Redeemer who will come to rescue them. 

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LOCATION: WHERE ARE WE? 

Our story takes place in a couple places, first in the land of Moab. Which sits on the other side of the Jordan river. To understand where Moab came from, we have to turn all the way back to Genesis 19, to the story of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his daughters. Definitely go read it because it is an interesting story. But for now I will say, Lot fathered Moab, who became the namesake of the land of Moab across the Dead Sea. 

The other location is Bethlehem or Beth-lechem means House of Bread. This town was known for the Barley Harvest and the bread they made every year. This is the same town that Joseph the earthly father of Jesus, was from. And the same town that Jesus will be born in about 1000 years later. I always love the fact that Jesus who calls himself the Bread of Life, was born into a family line known for making bread, in a town known as the House of Bread! But we will talk more about Bethlehem and the significance of Barley in a few minutes. 

MAIN POINTS

If you grew up in church you probably have heard this story a few times, or at least parts of this story a few times. But there are Four main points that I think are interesting and help shape the context of this story. We are going to take a closer look at them in this section. I will list them first and then we will go through them one by one. 

1.     Why Moab?

2.     Ruth’s Speech “Where you go, I’ll go” 

a.     What Ruth is giving up/What her future will look like following Naomi/Life of a widow in ancient Israel

b.     Even in Death? What it says about the Afterlife.

c.     Curse “May the Lord do so to me and more also…” 

3.     Return to Bethlehem?

4.     Beginning of the Barley Harvest 

Number One: Why Moab?

You may be asking yourself, why did Elimelech go to Moab? Wasn’t Egypt the bread winner at this time? Great Question! I had the same one!  

Jewish Chronology places Ruth’s story between Judges 3 and Judges 4, during the reign of Judge Ehud. A quick refresher in case you don’t remember Judge Ehud. He was the 2nd Judge of Israel after Joshua died. At this time Israel did not serve Yahweh, they served Baal and Asherah. Because of this Yahweh gave them over to the Moabite King, who ruled over Israel for 18 years. During which time, the people of Israel cried out to Yahweh to save them, and God raised up a leader named Ehud, who through a fascinating adventure found in Judges 3, I encourage you to go read later, He kills the King of Moab and Moab becomes a subject of Israel for the next 80 years. It’s during these 80 years that most scholars believe that Elimelech moved his family to Moab.  

So, moving his family to Moab made the most sense because it was an extension of Israel. 

NUMBER TWO: Ruth’s Speech “Where you go, I’ll go” 

Ruth makes this Amazing Speech, Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people, will be my people. Your God will be my God. Where you die, there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and do so severely if anything but death separates me from you”

But what is she really saying? What is she really giving up by following Naomi? And to answer that we have to first know how widows were treated during the time of the Judges. 

To be a woman in this time was to be owned by the men around you. First you were the property of your father, then the property of your husband, and if your husband died, you became the property of your sons. This was of course, because of the social construct of patriarchy that put women in this position. Without a man, women could do very little in this culture. They had no social standing, they had no access to jobs, which in turn meant they had no money of their own. Their only purpose was to keep the home and raise the children. 

However, if a woman was to become widowed, she would be left at the mercy of her sons. It would then be the son’s responsibility to take care of his mother. Which means provide basic needs like food, water, shelter. As well as giving her social standing in society. 

But if a woman didn’t have sons, or her sons died, she would be left to fend for herself. Which means she will likely be homeless, left without a way to make money, she would have a difficult time finding food. In short, she would be completely without hope. Which is why the Levitical Law says, and Jesus also says it later, over and over again to care for the widows and orphans, because they literally have nothing. 

The only options she had was to go back to her father’s Beth-av, assuming he is still living, and hope he can find her another husband. Or like in Naomi’s case, she needed, what the Levitical law called a Redeemer. Which is a male relative who would take the widow as their wife and have children with her, to preserve Her Husband’s name and family lineage. 

This is the life Ruth was agreeing to, when she told Naomi, “Where you go, I will go”. She was saying I am with you even though its going to be really hard. Even though we don’t have anything or anyone to hold on to. And I am not sure how we are going to make it. But I am here with you and we are doing it together! 

At the end of her speech, Ruth says, “May the Lord do so to me, and do so severely if anything but death separates me from you.” Now there has been some debate among scholars about the “anything but death” part of her speech. Was she talking about the physical death, that would separate the living from the deceased? Or is she saying, “let mothing separate us EVEN IN DEATH,” which would imply this promise standing even in the afterlife? Which begs the question, what did the Ancient Israelites believe about the afterlife? Could family members go with them? 

On one hand, it is probably safe to assume that Ancient Israel did not believe in eternal life, so when someone died, that was the end. The Ancient Israeli understanding of the Universe was broken down into three parts. The Heavens, Earth, and Sheol/Hades. The Heavens is inhabited by Yahweh and his Host of Angels. Only Immortals can live in this realm. Earth is inhabited by humans and mortal beings. And Sheol/Hades is the realm of the dead. Immortals could descend downward, like the Angels in Jacobs ladder, or Yahweh showing himself to Moses. But the movement could only go one direction. Down. There was no expectation that mortals could reach, much less enter Heaven. 

So, this is a good argument for Ruth to claim to stay with Naomi and the only thing separating them is death, because they would be in two different realms of being.  

On the other hand, In recent years Archeologist have reported finding Moabite tombs with pottery, jewelry, and other artifacts t\hat were considered useful in the afterlife, which may imply that the Moabites did believe in continued existence after death. So, it’s a good argument for Ruth, who was a Moabite, to claim to go with Naomi even into the afterlife. And this reenforces how series Ruth was about staying with Naomi, because in order to go with someone to the afterlife, one would have to be buried alive. And Ruth is making the claim that she would do that! She would go so far as to be buried Alive to be with Naomi. Wow! What a statement! 

And if that was not enough, Ruth concludes her speech with “May the Lord do to me and more also, if…” This phrase is a Hebrew idiom for an Oath. Remember when we talked about Oaths and covenants? Oaths are a legally binding contract between the person saying it and Yahweh. This kind of Oath is almost always followed by an “If” statement. Explaining the promise they are making, “If I let anything but death separate us.” This Oath implies that if the promise is not kept a great punishment will descend on the person giving the oath, usually certain death. Sometimes this oath can be explicit like in 1 Samuel 25:22 “May God strike me dead if…”  Again, this shows the persistence of Ruth. No Wonder Naomi stopped trying to convince her to go back to her own family. Instead, they headed together towards Bethlehem. 

NUMBER THREE: Return to Bethlehem?

We are not told Naomi’s family line, but we know that after her husband and sons die, She and Ruth head back to Bethlehem, where Elimelech was from. This could imply that she was born into a different tribe but married into the tribe of Judah. She had to go back to Bethlehem because it was the hometown of Elimelech, and His land needed to be Redeemed by his family’s Redeemer according to the Levitical Law. We will talk more about the Family Redeemer in the coming episodes. But for now I will say that Naomi returned to Bethlehem to have her Husband Elimelech’s line redeemed.   

NUMBER FOUR: Beginning of the Barley Harvest

The Beginning of the Barley harvest would start in the Jewish Month Nisan, late march or early April on our calendars. The Harvest would coincide with Passover. I find it fitting that Boaz would Redeem Ruth and Naomi around the time of Passover, where they would remember Yahweh redeeming His people.  

The Barley Harvest is very important in Bethlehem because as I mentioned early Bethlehem or Beth-lechem literally means House of Bread.  Barley was considered the “Food of the poor” because it was cheaper that wheat, and easier to plant. Since barley was not affected by the harsh heat, and didn’t require soil to be tilled, it could be planted almost anywhere. Thus, we see plots of barley spaced out around Bethlehem. Once mature, the barley would be cut down and buddled together to dry, then sent to the thrashing floor to be grounded, and prepared to be baked into little cakes.  

POINTS TO JESUS

            This is the story of Jesus (x 28) great-grandmother, that takes place in the town of his birth. But this is also a story of Redemption. We will see it more in the coming weeks, as we dive into the role of the Family Redeemer. But for now, I will say that Jesus is the Redeemer! He is the only who rescues us and welcomes us into his family! 

READ THE PASSAGE

Before we go, I want to close our time together by reading the scripture from which our story comes from today in Ruth 1. I hope that as you listen to this chapter being read that you will embrace all that we have learned, and that this passage will be illuminated for you. Let’s Read.

“In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!" Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me." 

Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you." 

And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?" She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" 

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.”

Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Our Ancient Future Story, I hope that you really enjoyed it! This episode was written and produced by me Vic Harmon. Music is Embarking on Adventure by Evan MacDonald. Please Subport the show by subscribing and Rating us. And Be sure follow us on Instagram and Facebook @ourancientfuturestory.

See you next time! Bye!