Women of the Bible - Ruth
A Woman of Devoted Love
by Kathryn Capoccia
Young Adults Sunday School Class
All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. © Copyright Kathy Capoccia 2000. This file may be freely copied, printed out, and distributed as long as copyright and source statements remain intact, and that it is not sold.
I. Introduction
A. Opening Prayer
B. Review of Last Week's Lesson/Verse
II. Character Profile: Ruth, A Woman of Devoted Love
A. Who was she?
1. A woman living in the time of the Judges (RTH 1:1), about 1100
BC.
RTH 1:1 " In the days when the judges ruled..."
2. A Moabite
RTH 1:2 "...his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were
Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and
lived there. RTH 1:4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah
and the other Ruth."
a) THE Moabites were the descendants of Lot by his eldest
daughter (GEN 19:30-38).
GEN 19:36,37 "So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by
their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him
Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today."
b) The land they occupied was mostly on a plateau east of the
Dead Sea, about 4,300 feet above the level of the Dead Sea.
c) The land was used for viticulture (grapevines), agriculture,
and the grazing of flocks and herds, particularly, sheep.
d) The prevalent religion seems to have been like the pagan
Canaanite practices; A god of war, Chemosh, a despicable
deity requiring the sacrifice of one's children, appears to
have been regarded as the chief god- also a female deity,
Ashtar-Chemosh, was worshiped as a goddess of fertility.
These gods were a snare to the Israelites during the period
of the Judges.
JDG 10:6 " the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD.
They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of
Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the
Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines."
e) During this time Moabite armies were used to chasten the
erring Israel kingdom (JUD 3:12-30) but at the time of Ruth's
story there seems to have been peace because of the ease of
travel between the two countries (RTH 1:1, 1:22).
3. Named "Ruth" which means:
a) "a sight" or
b) "a female friend"
4. A widow
a) She had been married to Mahlon.
1) Mahlon ("Weakling") was one of the sons of Elimelech
and Naomi (RTH 1:2, 4:9).
a] Mahlon's family consisted of his parents, Elimelech
("God is King") and Naomi ("Pleasant"), and his
brother, Kilion ("Sickly").
b] Mahlon's family had come to live temporarily in Moab in
a time of famine in Israel, and thus Mahlon had come to
marry Ruth while they were sojourning there (RTH 1:4).
RTH 1:4 "... they had lived there about ten years..."
c] Mahlon's family originated in Judea, in
Bethlehem/Ephrath (RTH 1:1,2).
RTH 1:1,2 " In the days when the judges ruled, there
was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in
Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to
live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name
was Elimelech, his wife's name 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.
d] Mahlon and Ruth married in Moab
RTH 1:4 "They (Kilion and Mahlon) married Moabite
women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth."
* In ancient Jewish marriages the groom and bride would
often reside in the groom's father's house after the
wedding, it having been enlarged to accommodate the new
family unit.
JOH 14:2 " In my Father's house are many rooms; if it
were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you."
Whether Mahlon and Ruth (and Kilion and Orpah) lived
thus closely with Elimelech and Naomi or not, it is
clear that Ruth and Orpah both knew and deeply loved
Naomi.
2) The Law did not prohibit marriage between Jews and
Moabites but no Moabite or his sons to the 10th generation
was allowed to "enter the assembly of the LORD" (DEU 23:3,
because they did not offer hospitality when the exodus
took place and they hired Balaam to curse the Israelites.)
b) She was widowed while the family still lived in Moab (RTH
1:5).
RTH 1:5 ..." both Mahlon and Kilion also died..."
c) She was childless (RTH 1:7,22 ).
RTH 1:5,6 ..." both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi
was left without her two sons and her husband. When she heard
in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by
providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law
prepared to return home from there."
* Since there is no mention of grandchildren and the two
daughters-in-law were leaving Moab with only Naomi, the
assumption may be made that the marriages were childless.
5. She was a "young woman" (RTH 2:5). HEBREW: a girl, maiden.
RTH 2:5 " Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose
young woman is that?"
B. What did she do?
1. She was devoted
a) To Naomi, an old (lit. " bearded") widow (RTH 1:3,12).
RTH 1:12 " I am too old to have another husband."
1) She was willing to leave her homeland to stay with Naomi
(RTH 1:6,7).
RTH 1:6,7 "When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come
to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi
and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from
there. 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."
* This act of selfless devotion meant that Ruth was
willing to give up remarriage to care for Naomi, her dead
husband's mother; and it meant that she was willing to go
to an unknown future among people that were, historically,
enemies of her own.
2) When Naomi urged her to go back to her own people and
family she refused (unlike her sister-in-law, Orpah, who
wept over the prospect but went. RTH 1:14.)
3) She took a vow to remain as Naomi's daughter until death
(which would mean providing for her), and to become an
Israelite (RTH 1:16).
RTH 1:16,17 "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, if anything but death separates you and me.'"
* Naomi must have been an extraordinary woman to have
inspired the devotion of two foreign, young women to the
extent that they did not return to their fathers' homes
after their husbands' deaths so that they could care for
her; they were willing to leave all that they knew to stay
with her; and Ruth was so impressed with her faith that
she wanted to worship her God too.
b) To her God, "the God of Israel" (RTH 1:16).
* The text does not say when Ruth's heart was touched to
worship the True God and serve Him only, but Ruth was a woman
of wholehearted devotion - when she vowed that "your God will
be my God" she meant it.
2. She was rewarded
a) Materially - God providentially met her needs.
1) She and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley
harvest was beginning" (RTH 1:22).
2) The Law provided for the poor, the alien, the widow and
the fatherless to "glean" in the fields of Israelites in
the harvest season in order to survive.
LEV 19:9,10 "When you reap the harvest of your land, do
not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the
gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a
second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave
them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God."
LEV 23:22 "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not
reap to the very edges of your field or gather the
gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the
alien. I am the LORD your God."
DEU 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 alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD
your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."
3) When she went out to "pick up the leftover grain" of the
harvesters she went to the field of Boaz, who was a near
relative of Elimelech's (RTH 2:3).
a] He was a kind man, treating his workers well (RTH
2:4,5), and treating Ruth with consideration (RTH
2:8-16).
RTH 2:4 " Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and
greeted the harvesters, 'The LORD be with you!' 'The
LORD bless you!' they called back."
b] He was a "kinsman-redeemer", a member of the extended
family responsible for protecting the interests of
needy members.
i] kinsman-redeemers had to provide an heir for a
brother that died (DEU 25:5-10).
ii] they had to redeem land that a poor relative had
sold outside the family (LEV 25:25-28).
iii] they had to redeem a relative who had been sold into
slavery (LEV 25:47-49).
iv] they had to avenge the killing of a relative (NUM
35:19-21).
c] He was prosperous (because he had a large field and
workers to tend it RTH 2:8.)
d] He was not a young man because he contrasts himself to
them (RTH 3:10.)
4) Boaz instructed her to continue to glean in his fields
with his servant girls, promised her protection from the
men workers, and told her to get water from the worker's
water jars (RTH 2:8,9).
5) She harvested an abundance of grain in Boaz's field (RTH
2:17).
RTH 2:17 "So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then
she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted
to about an ephah."
6) Boaz provided grain for her by instructing his workers to
"pull out some stalks from among the bundles " for her to
pick up (RTH 2:16).
b) Socially - Ruth gained a reputation as a "noble woman".
1) The people of Bethlehem spoke well of Ruth to Boaz (RTH
2:11).
RTH 2:11 " Boaz replied, 'I've been told all about what
you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of
your husband--how you left your father and mother and your
homeland and came to live with a people you did not know
before.'"
2) Boaz commended her for her actions toward Naomi and asked
the LORD'S blessing upon Ruth (RTH 2:11,12).
RTH 2:12 " May the LORD repay you for what you have done.
May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel,
under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
3) Boaz again blessed Ruth and told her that she had a
sterling reputation (RTH 3:10,11).
RTH 3:10,11 "'The LORD bless you, my daughter,' he replied.
'This kindness is greater than that which you showed
earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether
rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I
will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know
that you are a woman of noble character.'"
c) Emotionally - Naomi secured "a home" for Ruth.
RTH 3:1 " One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, 'My
daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you
will be well provided for?'"
1) A husband
a] Naomi found a way for Ruth to marry
RTH 3:2-4 "'Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you
have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be
winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and
perfume yourself, and put on 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.'"
i] She advised Ruth to dress as a bride and appeal to
Boaz, as kins-man redeemer, to offer her the
protection of marriage (RTH 3:1-4; 3:9.)
ii] Boaz responded favorably. He praised her for her
obedience to Naomi and for her "noble character"; he
promised to redeem her if possible and he sent her
home with a generous token of his care- 6 measures
of barley (RTH 3:10-15).
RTH 3:10-15 "' The LORD bless you, my daughter,' he
replied. 'This kindness is greater than that which
you showed earlier: You have not run after the
younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my
daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you
ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a
woman of noble character. Although it is true that I
am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer
than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning
if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if
he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I
will do it. Lie here until morning.' So she lay at
his feet until morning, but got up before anyone
could be recognized; and he said, 'Don't let it be
known that a woman came to the threshing floor.' He
also said, 'Bring me the shawl you are wearing and
hold it out.' When she did so, he poured into it six
measures of barley and put it on her. Then he went
back to town."
b] Boaz settled matters
i] Boaz arranged to meet another relative in the city
gate, the closest kins-man redeemer to Elimelech, to
ask him if he would redeem Elimelech's land and
marry Ruth ( and thus to provide an heir for Mahlon.
RTH 4:1-4.)
RTH 4:1-4 " Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate
and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had
mentioned came along, Boaz said, 'Come over here, my
friend, and sit down.' So he went over and sat down.
Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said,
'Sit here,' and they did so. Then he said to the
kinsman-redeemer, 'Naomi, who has come back from
Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to
our brother Elimelech. 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.'"
ii] The nearest kins-man redeemer declined and legally
turned over his right of redemption to Boaz, with
the elders of the city as witnesses (RTH 4:6-12.)
RTH 4:6-8 " At this, the kinsman-redeemer said,
'Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my
own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.'
(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.) So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, 'Buy
it yourself.' And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz
announced to the elders and all the people, 'Today
you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all
the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon.'"
iii] Boaz and Ruth marry (RTH 4:13.)
RTH 4:9-11 "Then Boaz announced to the elders and
all the people, 'Today you are witnesses that I have
bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech,
Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the
Moabitess, 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 the town records. Today you are
witnesses!' Then the elders and all those at the
gate said, 'We are witnesses.'"
RTH 4:13 " So Boaz took Ruth and she became his
wife."
2) A child
a] Ruth and Boaz were enabled to have a son, Obed, "a
servant who worships" (RTH 4:13).
RTH 4:13 " So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife.
Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to
conceive, and she gave birth to a son."
b] The child became the heir of Mahlon (RTH 4:14-17).
RTH 4:14-16 " The women said to Naomi: 'Praise be to
the LORD, who this day has not left you without a
kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout
Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your
old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and
who is better to you than seven sons, has given him
birth.' Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap
and cared for him. The women living there said, 'Naomi
has a son.'"
c] The child eventually became the father of Jesse and the
grandfather of David, King of Israel (RTH 4:17-22).
RTH 4:17-22 "He was the father of Jesse, the father of
David. This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez
was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram
the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of
Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the
father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the
father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David."
C. What can we learn from her?
1. God is very concerned about the welfare of widows.
JAM 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and
faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their
distress ..."
2. God provides for His children.
PSA 37:25 " I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen
the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."
3. God accepts anyone who truly seeks Him.
JOH 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and
whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
* So God brought Obed, and ultimately David and Jesus, from this
devoted woman; and He accepted her into the line of believers
tracing back to Adam and Eve who came by faith alone to the One
who can meet all one's needs.
III. What fruits of the Spirit can we see in her?
A. love
B. kindness
C. self-control
IV. Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight
in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Kathy Capoccia's Sunday School Lessons" by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
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