Ruth 1 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Ruth 1 Notes** > [[Ruth 2 FSI|Next>]] >[[Ruth 1|Verse list view]] > Ruth Intro/Background note > > We are beginning a study in the Book of Ruth. It's one of those books that we know exists in the Bible, but about which we normally know little. Many don't know where in the Bible to find it. Well, it appears right after the Book of Judges, as the events in the Book of Ruth occurred during that time ([Ruth 1:1](Ruth%201.md#^1)). > > In the Old Testament we have the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Commonly known as the Pentateuch, these are the books of Moses, in which God records the Creation, the fall of man and the launching of His salvation plan, including the calling of Abraham and the giving of the law to Israel. > > They are followed by the Book of Joshua, which recounts Israel's entrance into, and the conquest of, the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. Next, we find the Book of Judges, which covers about 360 years of Israel's history, the period before they had their first human king. > > The Book of Ruth then follows Judges. It is the story of a couple of families that lived shortly before, or early during, the time of the last judge Eli, because one of its key characters is a man called Boaz, who was the great grandfather of King David. So we can know fairly accurately when in history the Book of Ruth occurred. > > David was the first Israelite king after God's own heart. The first king of all was Saul, whom God raised up to please Israel's desire for a human king. But God later removed him from power because of his disobedience, to make way for David’s reign. It is from the line of David that all the kings of Judah and Christ Himself came, and David was also a great type or figure of Christ. > > **The Surface Love Story** > > The Book of Ruth is written in the nature of an exquisitely beautiful love story. Let’s first go through this story in its historical setting and then back up and discuss the spiritual truths hidden therein. > > The book begins with a family of four from the land of Bethlehem: the father, Elimelech, the mother, Naomi, and two grown sons, Mahlon and Chilion (pronounced Kilion). A famine hit Bethlehem and, to escape it, they went to live in a foreign land, Moab. Lo and behold, Elimelech died, and Naomi was left in Moab with her two sons. > > While they were there, the two sons married Moabite girls – one named Orpah, and the other Ruth. The Moabites were looked upon by God and by the Israelites as strangers and foreigners, those under the curse of God, along with all the Gentile nations. The two sons, therefore, really should not have married them. At any rate, after they had lived in Moab about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion died as well. And so, we now have in the land of Moab this sad threesome, Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, all widows. > > When Naomi heard that food was again available in Bethlehem, she prepared to return home from Moab. But when she considered that her two Moabite daughters-in-law were strangers to Bethlehem and would perhaps be looked upon as outcasts there, she thought it would be better for her to return to her own land alone. So, she encouraged the two to go back to their parents in Moab. Apparently, the two maidens were still very young and could marry again and bear children. In Moab, Naomi reasoned, they could probably find happiness again. > > Orpah, heeding Naomi's entreaties, decided to stay. However, Ruth came through with the beautiful statement of her love for Naomi and her people in [Ruth 1:16](Ruth%201.md#^16), [17](Ruth%201.md#^17). > > Returning home. So, taking along Ruth as a complete stranger, Naomi returned to Bethlehem. As both were widows that had lost everything, they arrived in Bethlehem destitute. You could not see a sorrier pair. In fact, Naomi told her kinsfolk and friends in Bethlehem not to call her Naomi anymore, but to call her Mara instead because "the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." The name Mara means bitterness. > > And so, they must find a way to find sustenance, to procure food to eat to survive. > > It was the custom in those days that the poor could glean in the fields of the farmers. God had given the rule that when reapers reaped the harvest of the land, they were not to completely clean out the corners or edges of the fields, and if they dropped any of the produce, they were not to pick it up again. God purposed to give the poor of the land a chance to go after the reapers and glean the corners and to pick up the grain or corn or whatever that had fallen, so that they would have some sustenance. > > As it turned out, Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem right at the beginning of the barley harvest time, and Naomi had a relative named Boaz. And Ruth just happened to arrive on his parcel of land to glean. Just then, Boaz arrived from the city and took note of this maiden. In fact, he had heard about Naomi and Ruth from the people in Bethlehem. They were obviously the talk of the town, so to speak, because Naomi had told them of the great tragedy that had befallen her and because she had brought back this stranger, this cursed Moabitish woman. > > Great kindness. Boaz was a wealthy man; he was a landowner. As one of the real blue bloods of Bethlehem, one would expect him to look down with great disdain upon this cursed Moabitish woman that dared to come onto his field. But as we read this beautiful love story, we see that Boaz reacted with great kindness and with great favor toward Ruth. He even told his reapers to leave a little extra barley for her, making sure that she had enough. > > And he spoke very kindly to Ruth, we read in this story, which has all the makings of an exquisite love story. Finally, Ruth began to plight her troth with Boaz. She suggested in a very interesting way that perhaps a deeper relationship should develop between Boaz and herself. Because of the rules that existed in the land then, indeed it was possible for Boaz to marry Ruth and to raise up a family on both her and Naomi's behalves. > > (Because Naomi had lost her husband and both of her two sons, she would otherwise die without any grandchildren to carry on the family's name. The law of the land, thankfully, would permit Boaz to marry Ruth to achieve the continuance of the line of Elimelech and his sons.) > > And so, the love story closes with Boaz marrying Ruth and with Ruth bearing a son. It ended up with the most wonderful man marrying this lovely girl who humbled herself and was very faithful to her mother-in-law, Naomi. It ended up with great joy for Ruth and Naomi. It is a classic story of the prince and the pauper – the kind of theme upon which many fairy tales and love stores have been built. > > The line of Jesus. One significant sidelight in this love story is that Boaz was the ancestor of David and therefore, the ancestor of Jesus Himself. And since Ruth was married to Boaz, we see that this cursed Moabitish woman was also the ancestor of David and of Jesus Himself. The blood of the Moabites through Ruth thus flowed in the life of David and in the life of Jesus. > > This very interesting and significant situation indicates, of course, that Jesus was altogether man. When He came to earth, He did not come into a family that was without sin. In His bloodlines through Mary, who was a descendant of Boaz and Ruth, the blood of all kinds of sinners from a number of different nations flowed. > > **Deeper Spiritual Truths** > > So much for the historical account. We sometimes wonder why God put such a story in the Bible. And we are going to repeatedly seek the answer to that question as we get deeper into the Book of Ruth. > > Now, you could go to many commentaries about the Book of Ruth and find that all the writers have to say is how sweet and beautiful this love story is. This is their whole explanation as to why the account was recorded in the Scripture. There are a few commentaries, to be sure, that focus on the marriage of Boaz and Ruth. They note that in it, we find a figure of the marriage of Christ with His bride, the eternal church. They see that Ruth is a figure of the sinner who comes to Christ for salvation, and Boaz as the figure of the Savior. > > Now, this is not hard to deduce, because Chapter three of Ruth speaks of Boaz as the kinsman, and the Hebrew word for kinsman is generally translated redeemer. And the Lord Jesus, of course, is the Redeemer; He is the One who actually loved us so much that He died to redeem us from our sins, and while we were still under the curse of sin, He made us His bride; He has married us. We will see that marriage in its fullest reality in the New Holy City, where the Bible speaks of the marriage feast of the bride and the Lamb. > > However, found hidden in the Book of Ruth is more than just the love between Christ and His people. We have to examine verse by verse, and even phrase by phrase in places, to see why God is saying what He says. In [Mark 4:33](Mark%204.md#^33), [34](Mark%204.md#^34), the Bible reveals the important truth that the Lord Jesus spoke the Word in parables, while expounding everything to His disciples when they were alone. > > If the Lord spoke the Word in parables, and without a parable He did not speak when He was on earth, then this is how He comes to us in the Bible. And those parables are then expounded to us His people when He is with us in His Word. Since Jesus is the Word of God, we should expect to find parables throughout the Bible. > > What is a parable? In the simplest kind of language, it is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. There are two kinds of parables, so we need to get this very thoroughly into our minds. > > *Simple parables.* A parable can be just a story that God tells us, a story that has no historical significance. When Christ uses parables to speak about various situations – when He says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fisherman that went out to fish or like a vineyard that a person has planted, and so on – He is simply putting together a story that has no historical significance. > > Its purpose is to use an earthly illustration to which we humans can readily relate, to give us a spiritual truth, to tell us something about the Kingdom of Heaven, and to show us an aspect of His salvation program. > > *Historical parables.* But there are other kinds of parables in the Bible. We find, for example, that the prophet Hosea was told by God to marry a harlot, and he did so. > > That was an historical event that actually took place. But God is really having Hosea act out a lesson via a parable, because with that marriage, He is teaching a deeper truth relating to His relationship with the nation of Israel. And so, that marriage was a historical parable. > > Likewise, when Jesus performed miracles – when He healed the lame man or when He healed the lepers – these were historical events that actually occurred. But the purpose of these historical events was to also illustrate for us the deep and wonderful truths regarding salvation. > > Before we are saved, we are like lepers; we are unclean. There is no hope for us; there is no healing for us. (In those days there was absolutely no healing for leprosy.) But even as Jesus could speak and cleanse these lepers so that they were whole again with all the traces of leprosy gone, even so when God speaks to us, when He opens our hearts, when He opens our spiritual eyes and cleanses us from sin, we become spiritually cleansed so that we are altogether blameless with all of our sins covered. > > So, while the healing of the lepers was a historical event that did take place, it was in the nature of a historical parable in which God was giving a spiritual insight into the nature of salvation. The same fact applies to many of the accounts of historical events that we find throughout the Bible. They were recorded no only to give us some history of that particular day, but to give us deeper spiritual truth. > > This is the nature of the Book of Ruth. Having studied it carefully, we’ll see it is dripping with the salvation message throughout all four of its chapters, not limited to the marriage of Boaz and Ruth alone. Again and again, we will get insights into the nature of the wonderful salvation program that God has provided for humanity. So, let's begin now and examine the book verse by verse. > > *A word of caution.* It must be pointed out that most theologians and Bible teachers frown upon the idea of seeking spiritual truths from historical accounts in the Scripture. They insist that one should not look beyond that which is apparent in the text. So, don't be surprised if you are ridiculed when you begin to share with others the deeper spiritual knowledge you have learned from this Ruth study. > > But we are really studying the Bible the way it should be studied. Remember, [Mark 4:33](Mark%204.md#^33), [34](Mark%204.md#^34) insists that Jesus speaks with parables and without a parable He does not speak. And Jesus, of course, is the Word of God. Hence, [1 Corinthians 2:9](1%20Corinthians%202.md#^9). In other words, ordinary human eyes and ears simply cannot see or hear the truths that God has prepared for His people. > > You see, there is information in the Bible that God has meant just for believers ([1 Cor 2:13](1%20Corinthians%202.md#^13), [14](1%20Corinthians%202.md#^14), [15](1%20Corinthians%202.md#^15), [16](1%20Corinthians%202.md#^16)). Yes, the Holy Spirit that indwells us has not only given us believers a new birth, but has empowered us to understand the things of God as well. To learn these truths, we need to compare scripture with scripture. ^ruth1-intro > [Ruth 1:1](Ruth%201.md#^1) note > > In the Hebrew, "Bethlehem-judah" is really two separate words: Bethlehem and Judah. So, this story begins in Bethlehem in Judah. Bethlehem is a historical city and these people lived there around 1100 BC, perhaps 100 years or so before David. > > Bethlehem is a word that means "house of bread." Once we know that, we see the spiritual touchstones in that name. The Lord Jesus says in [John 6:35](John%206.md#^35), [41](John%206.md#^41), [48](John%206.md#^48), [51](John%206.md#^51), [58](John%206.md#^58) that He is the Bread of Life and that we must eat of this Bread if we are to have spiritual and eternal life. Christ is thus quite identified with Bethlehem. > > Jesus also came down to earth in Bethlehem. Of all the places on earth, this little village of Bethlehem was the place where Jesus was born. Not coincidentally, Bethlehem was also the birthplace of David, a great type of Jesus. We learn about that in [1 Samuel 16:1](1%20Samuel%2016.md#^1), when the Lord said unto Samuel, "I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons." Jesse was the father of David. So from Boaz, to Jesse, to David, to Christ, they are all identified here with Bethlehem. > > Christ is directly identified with Judah as well. In [Revelation 5:5](Revelation%205.md#^5), He is identified as "the Lion of the tribe of Juda" who alone was qualified to open the book with seven seals. That book, of course, represents the salvation plan that God provides for the Elect. > > Spiritually, therefore, Bethlehem – the house of bread – is the place where God's people are, or should be. They should be in Christ Himself. > > In the historical context, we can well understand why this family goes to sojourn in Moab. There is a famine in the land of Bethlehem. There is hardly any food around. Famine occurred in the days of Abraham, it occurred in the days of Isaac and it even occurs today in many parts of the world. To be able to eat, this family has to migrate to a place where food is available. > > But the Bible often uses famine to signify a time when the Word of God is not faithfully preached and taught, and when the people turn away from the Lord. Speaking of the last days of Israel (and the end-time that we now live in), for instance, [Amos 8:11](Amos%208.md#^11), [12](Amos%208.md#^12) declares this. > > In the days of the judges, spiritual famines occurred frequently. Again and again if you go through the Book of Judges, you will find that God would deliver the Israelites into the hand of the Moabites, the Philistines, the Ammonites or some other enemy. Then, when they cried out to the Lord, He would raise up a judge to rescue them. But then when things go well with them, they would turn away from God again. They would forget God's Word and ignore God's will for their lives, And God would bring oppression against them once more. > > Verse 1 here indicates that this is one of those periods. It hits the land of Bethlehem, the House of Bread and of Judah, the place where God's people should normally be. > > Now, if there is spiritual famine in our lives, we will find that when difficulties arise, we don't put our trust in God. We look to the world for answers; we go to psychiatrists and counselors with worldly wisdom; and we try to find security in our own efforts, our bank accounts, our wisdom and abilities and so on. Ignoring the promises of God in the Bible, we turn to worldly books for help, including man-written books about their applications of the Bible. All this will only result in spiritual defeats. ^ruth1-1 > [Ruth 1:2](Ruth%201.md#^2) note > > “And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion,...” > > The name Elimelech means "God is King." It emphasizes that God is the King of kings whom we ought to worship and serve. In this historical parable, therefore, this man is a picture of God Himself. > > It says here that Elimelech has a wife named Naomi. The word Naomi means "My God is sweet." This woman is thus a figure of national Israel. And in the marriage of Elimelech and Naomi, we see the beautiful relationship that God originally had with Israel. > > There are a few places in the Bible where God speaks of His having once been married to Israel. For example, [Jeremiah 2:2](Jeremiah%202.md#^2). Appearing in the Bible only in this verse, "espousals" is an archaic rendering, and is from a Hebrew word meaning betrothals, having to do with engagement and marriage. God is saying there that He remembers how kind Jerusalem was to Him when she was young, how much love she, as a wife, had shown Him and how closely she had followed Him in the dry wilderness. > > That God once regarded Israel as His married wife is also implicit in [Isaiah 54:1](Isaiah%2054.md#^1). A New Testament commentary of that is found beginning in [Galatians 4:21](Galatians%204.md#^21), [22](Galatians%204.md#^22), [23](Galatians%204.md#^23). > > God says there that of the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael was the one born of the bondwoman after the flesh, and Isaac the one of the freewoman born by promise. Note that God identifies the bondmaid Hagar with those who desire to be under the law, which, of course, characterizes Israel. [Galatians 4:27](Galatians%204.md#^27) then quotes [Isaiah 54:1](Isaiah%2054.md#^1). > > Before Sarah told Abraham to go into Hagar, you see, Sarah had been barren or desolate. But God promises that she, the desolate, will ultimately have far more children than "she which has an husband." In that latter statement, God reiterates that Israel, in a real sense, had in God a husband. > > This is also seen in [Jeremiah 31:31](Jeremiah%2031.md#^31), [32](Jeremiah%2031.md#^32), though in a somewhat negative sense. There, God confirms that He was formerly a husband to Israel; however, because they broke His covenant, He is no longer so. (We'll look into the breaking up of this marriage between God and Israel when we come to verse 3 of Ruth 1 later on.) > > So you see, National Israel began being married to God. They were chosen by God as a special people for Himself. God was very close to them. He brought them out of the land of Egypt and was in the midst throughout the wilderness sojourn. When enemies came to attack them, God fought and won the battles for them. He then brought them into the land of Canaan. > > While in the wilderness, God gave Israel the law through which they might see that they were sinners in need of a Savior, and therefore focus their eyes upon the Messiah to come. > > Through the ceremonial part of the law, moreover, they could further see the nature of the Messiah that they needed. For example, as they killed the lambs without blemish, they should realize that without the shedding of blood by the sinless Messiah, there could be no atonement for sins. And as they offered their burnt offerings, they should realize that to pay for their iniquities, the Messiah had to endure the equivalent of eternal death on their behalf, the burning furnace. > > Yes, Israel could truly say, "My God is sweet." They had God as their husband. > > Even as Naomi represents Israel, the two sons represent the people of Israel. The name "Mahlon" means “sick” and Chilion means “pining or grieving;” both reflect the sorry spiritual state of Israel when they suffered from a famine of the hearing of the Word and left the house of Bread. They were supposed to be the sons of God, but they turned apostate. We'll see that more clearly when we come to verse 4. > > “Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.” > > Again, Bethlehem-judah is Bethlehem in Judah. God describes this family as Ephrathites to emphasize that they have come from the Bethlehem in which Jesus was born. You see, there were two Bethlehem's in Israel. The one in which Jesus came into the world was, to be specific, Bethlehem Ephrathah (or Ephratah), the little community seven or eight miles south of Jerusalem. We know that from a prophecy of His birth found in [Micah 5:2](Micah%205.md#^2). > > But this family has departed from the House of Bread and the House of Judah and has come to live in Moab. When Israel was in the wilderness, it was the king of Moab that wanted Balaam to curse Israel. After they had entered the Promised Land, the Israelites still had to fight many battles against Moab. The land of Moab is thus a picture of the world, or the dominion of Satan. And this is the land that this family has come into to escape the famine. ^ruth1-2 > [Ruth 1:3](Ruth%201.md#^3) note > > In the historical context, this is a great tragedy that has come upon Naomi. She and her family have just come to Moab from the famine-stricken Bethlehem, hoping perhaps to find some food here, and her husband suddenly dies, leaving her with her two sons. > > Spiritually, this is a picture of God departing from them. In the Bible, death has to do with separation. Physical death, for instance, is the separation of soul and body, for [James 2:26](James%202.md#^26) says, "the body without the spirit is dead." And spiritual death depicts a condition wherein one is separated from God. > > Man's fall. In the beginning, remember, God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, saying, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." So, the moment our first parents Adam and Eve ate the fruit thereof, they became spiritually dead – their souls were separated from Eternal God. And having inherited their sinful nature, all human beings are, as [Ephesians 2:1](Ephesians%202.md#^1) puts it, "dead in trespasses and sins." Only by being in Christ, by being born again of the Holy Spirit, can one reunite with God and become spiritually alive. > > Here in Ruth 1:3, we find that Elimelech no longer exists for Naomi. No wonder that, when Naomi, whose name means "My God is sweet," later comes back to Bethlehem, she tells people not to call her Naomi anymore, but to call her Mara instead ([v20](Ruth%201.md#^20)), which means "bitter." > > **Put away by God** > > Elsewhere in the Bible, God often speaks of His broken relationship with Israel as a divorce. We have just seen some of the passages showing that God was married to Israel. But that marriage did not last, as seen in Hosea 2:2. There, Israel is spoken of as the mother. God says that because she has become altogether adulterous, having engaged in all kinds of spiritual fornication, He no longer maintained a marriage relationship with her. > > *Galatians Chapter 4*. Earlier, when we looked at [Isaiah 54:1](Isaiah%2054.md#^1 in the light of [Galatians 4:27](Galatians%204.md#^27), we saw that God likens national Israel to Hagar, the bondwoman "which has an husband." Instead of trusting in the yet-to-come Messiah implicit in the law, Israel had so placed their trust for salvation in the law itself that they became slaves to it. > > Now, let's see how the New Testament further explains the historical parable involving Hagar and her son Ishmael in [Galatians 4:30](Galatians%204.md#^30). Effectively, God is saying: Cut off Hagar and her son from me. They are not to share in the inheritance of eternal life. > > Now, that was and still is the condition of national Israel. The nation has been in bondage to the law. The Lord came in bodily form and dwelt among them; He was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. Yet, they rejected Him because they could not see that in His death, there would be salvation. They were convinced that they can be quite righteous by just keeping the law. > > So, the sorry condition of the widow Naomi and her two sons that we see here in verse 3 is a picture of national Israel that had begun with all the promises of God, but ended up by having been put away by God. > > *Divorce law.* Incidentally, God had anticipated His casting out His wife Israel when he gave the law through Moses in Deuteronomy 24:1. Significantly, this law allows only a man to divorce his wife, not a wife to divorce her husband. > > When Jesus was on earth, the Jewish leaders tried to trip Him on this subject in [Matthew 19:3](Matthew%2019.md#^3). They were "tempting" (testing) Him because Deuteronomy Chapter 24 doesn't really say that a man can put away his wife "for every cause." > > So He responds in [Matthew 19:4](Matthew%2019.md#^4), [5](Matthew%2019.md#^5), [6](Matthew%2019.md#^6), saying that right from the time God created Adam and Eve, God had meant that the union between a husband and a wife was to be a lifelong one. > > Persisting in the subject of divorce, the Pharisees then asked in [verse 7](Matthew%2019.md#^7), "Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" Take note of Jesus's reply in [Matthew 19:8](Matthew%2019.md#^8). God had allowed a man to put away a wife with uncleanness because of the hardness of the Israelites' hearts. What did the hardness of their hearts have to do with a one-sided permission to go forth with a divorce? You see, God was preparing the way for Him to divorce Israel because of their lack of faith. > > *No exception.* The Lord added what He said in [Matthew 19:9](Matthew%2019.md#^9) to emphasize that divorce is no longer permissible in any circumstances from that point on. He is effectively saying: I have already said that one cannot put away a wife for fornication; because it was not allowed from the beginning. But since your question speaks of putting away a wife for every cause, let me stress that you may not do so for any cause, because if you did, you yourself would be guilty of adultery. > > That is a great blessing, because we the body of believers are now the wife of Christ. The no-divorce rule reassures us that even though we still have a sinful nature and often do things that are not pleasing to God, He will never put us away. Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ^ruth1-3 > [Ruth 1:4a](Ruth%201.md#^4) note > > (This note applies to Ruth 1:4(a). For Ruth 1:4(b), see commentary under Ruth 1:5.) > > “And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth:” > > Having left the House of Bread and widowed by the death of her husband Elimelech, Naomi is left with her two sons Mahlon and Chilion. And we now see the first big step in the great tragedy that is building up. Both of those sons married Moabitish girls. > > For a Jewish person to marry a non-Jew was an act of disobedience in itself, because in [Deuteronomy 7:1](Deuteronomy%207.md#^1), [2](Deuteronomy%207.md#^2), [3](Deuteronomy%207.md#^3), God had warned the Israelites against this very thing. And to marry a Moabitish woman was doubly bad, according to what God declared in [Deuteronomy 23:3](Deuteronomy%2023.md#^3), [4](Deuteronomy%2023.md#^4), [5](Deuteronomy%2023.md#^5). > > Later in the Old Testament, that many Jews had married Ammonites and Moabites was something Nehemiah discovered in horror when he returned to Jerusalem to repair the wall during the days of the Medes and the Persians. Read what he said in his prayer when he had completed the repair of the wall ([Neh 13:23](Nehemiah%2013.md#^23), [24](Nehemiah%2013.md#^24), [25](Nehemiah%2013.md#^25)). Nehemiah's intense anger underscores how seriously God views mixed marriages by the Israelites. > > So, Mahlon and Chilion should not have married these two Moabitish girls. But, you see, once the family left the House of Bread for a foreign land, it became separated from God. Then, one sin multiplied over against another and the sons married into the nation of Moab. Sin follows sin. This is the pattern of sin in our lives. > > *Unequally yoked.* Spiritually speaking, mixed marriages are still forbidden in the New Testament ([2 Cor 6:14](2%20Corinthians%206.md#^14)). > > How many young people brought up in Christian families have alienated themselves from the faith because they are unequally yoked? Typically, a believer starts to date an unbeliever and the dating seems harmless enough. Then they begin to find each other attractive. Instead of nipping the romance in the bud, this young man (or woman) would think, "Maybe I can witness to her, maybe I can lead her to Christ, or maybe in time God will graciously save her." Finally, they fell in love and married. > > But the girl never becomes saved, and the couple soon discover that they have altogether different values. As the scripture indicates, righteousness simply cannot have fellowship with unrighteousness. The two have different masters. This results, at best, to a very difficult marriage. > > Of course, maybe the young man himself was never saved to begin with. Then, more likely than not, they will live a worldly life, and their children are never brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord. > > *Case history.* In [Genesis 6:2](Genesis%206.md#^2) we read about how the sons of God (that is, the believers) looked at the daughters of men (the unbelievers) and saw that they were exceedingly fair and then they took wives of these to themselves. This sin was followed by their putting their trust in the Nephilim, the men of renown of that day. And then we read that God saw the wickedness of man was so great that He purposed in His heart to destroy humanity. He brought the flood of Noah's day that completely devastated the earth. > > This, then, is the path of sin that the sons of Naomi are entering. ^ruth1-4 > [Ruth 1:4b](Ruth%201.md#^4) - [5](Ruth%201.md#^5) note > > (This note applies to Ruth 1:4(b) - 1:5.) > > In its historical setting, we are amazed that so much destruction and so much unhappiness could come upon Naomi in the short space of ten years. We see Naomi, a widow, is now left with two daughters-in-law who have also become widows. > > But there is spiritual significance in the ten years here. In the Bible, the number 10, 100, or 1000 frequently signifies the completeness of God's plan. In this case, it is likely illustrating that by God's grace, and in His incomprehensible mercy, there is a time in the completeness of God's plan when we come to our spiritual senses. > > We see here Naomi, a widow, and her two daughters-in-law, who are also widows, living in a cursed nation. For the three of them, the whole situation seems as hopeless as it can ever be. But now, in the completeness of God's salvation plan, the time has come for His grace and mercy to shine forth. And that is what we see beginning in the next verse. ^ruth1-5 > [Ruth 1:6](Ruth%201.md#^6) note > > In the historical context, we see that Naomi begins to consider returning to Bethlehem. Remember, she and her family had left Bethlehem for Moab because there was a famine there. Now, she has heard while in this foreign land that God is visiting His people by providing bread for them, food is again available in her homeland. > > Spiritually, in the completeness of God's plan, Naomi represents the believer as she hears the good news of the Gospel. God reaches down in His mercy and takes this sinner and that sinner (and you and I), and He opens our spiritual ears and draws us to Christ, the Bread of Life. He enables us to hear the Gospel, the place where we are going to find our strength, our help. > > In bringing salvation to the elect, the Lord has visited His people, has He not? He has visited His people in a marvelous way because the Lord Jesus Christ has come with the Bread of Life to those who are His house, His people. Remember that Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” > > So here, we find Naomi arising, now wanting to go back to her God. She is repenting of her sins and is turning away from the life that she has led. She wants to leave the cursed world, which is also the land that we have to leave when we hear the Gospel with our spiritual ears and to return to God. God causes Naomi to prepare to return to Bethlehem with her daughters-in-law. "No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him," Jesus says in John 6:44. That Naomi started to prepare to return to Bethlehem illustrates that God was drawing her to Christ and that she was now a type of the remnant of Israel chosen by grace. > > *The remnant.* When Naomi left the House of Bread to live in Moab, as pointed out previously, she was a picture of the nation of Israel. Now, she typifies the remnant in Israel that are chosen by grace. > > The nation of Israel was spiritually bereaved for hundreds and hundreds of years in their sins; they went farther and farther from God until they finally existed as a nation in spiritual famine. > > Yet, the Bible promised that the Messiah would come to visit His people. And He did visit His people right at Bethlehem; He was born in Bethlehem. He came to Israel to provide them with the Bread of Life, and any Israelite who turned to Him could have that Bread of Life for him or herself. > > So, looking at John the Baptist and his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, looking at Joseph and Mary, the mother of Jesus, or at Simeon and Anna in the temple where Jesus was presented to the Lord, or at Mary Magdalene, at Lazarus and Mary and Martha, and the eleven disciples, we can see that there was a remnant chosen by grace in Israel that did come to the Lord when He visited His people. And this will continue through the end of time. ^ruth1-6 > [Ruth 1:7](Ruth%201.md#^7) note > > Having heard that food is again available in Judah and recognizing their pitiful condition in the country of Moab, the three widows – Naomi and the two daughters in law – proceed to return to the land of Judah. > > And so it is with us believers when we are drawn by God. We hear the good news that God has visited His people ([Mt 1:21](Matthew%201.md#^21)). He has visited the Israel of God throughout the world ([Jn 3:16](John%203.md#^16)). > > And as we realize how spiritually bankrupt we are in this world, we begin to repent, we want to leave the world, and go to Jesus Christ, the Savior who will give us eternal life. ^ruth1-7 > [Ruth 1:8](Ruth%201.md#^8) note > > In the historical context, it makes sense for Naomi to tell her daughters-in-law to return each to her mother's house. After all, they are Moabitish girls, with whom Mahlon and Chilion should never have married. They are from a cursed nation. In Bethlehem, they probably would be frowned upon by the people there. On the other hand, they have their own families right here in Moab. So, Naomi wishes them well and thanks them for having dealt kindly with her sons when they were alive. ^ruth1-8 > [Ruth 1:9](Ruth%201.md#^9) note > > Again, it seems reasonable for Naomi to suggest that, by staying in her home country, each of the daughters-in-law can perhaps find a husband and have a future for herself. That would certainly make sense in a typical love story, would it not? > > And as they are about to part, they weep together loudly. Can you see the picture? The three of them, bereaved of their husbands and having suffered together for ten years, have developed among them a real bond of fellowship. > > Yet, here in verse 9, we come upon a puzzling statement that Naomi says to the young women: "The Lord grant you that ye may find rest." In ordinary circumstances, one would expect her to say, "The Lord grant that ye may find prosperity or happiness in the house of your husbands." We thus sense that she was inspired by the Holy Spirit to use that phrase because there is a deeper spiritual truth. > > *Rest in God.* In the Bible, what does it mean for one to find rest? In whose house do we find our spiritual rest? We read in [Ephesian 2:12](Ephesians%202.md#^12), [13](Ephesians%202.md#^13) that before we are saved, we are outside the commonwealth of Israel, we are outside the House of God, we are strangers and pilgrims without an eternal home. But when we become saved, we enter into the House of God, which is God Himself. He is the eternal habitation in which and in Whom we find rest. > > What kind of rest? Well, by nature we are enemies of God, we are at war with God. As such, we have no peace in our soul. Oh yes, we may try to do good works, hoping somehow that God would look favorably at them and deal kindly with us. But we can never satisfy God because our best works are as filthy rags in His sight. So, whether we realize it or not, fighting the will of God causes us to be spiritually restless. > > But when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, when we admit that we are sinners and cast ourselves upon His mercy, we find rest for our souls. We find rest in the House of our Husband because, you see, we become the bride of Christ, to use the language of the Bible. > > Absolute truth. And so, Naomi is laying down a truism here. People in the world all need to find rest – that is, to find a way to be at peace with God – in the house of their husbands. And the only Husband that can give us that rest is the God of the Bible. > > Remember what Jesus says in [Matthew 11:28](Matthew%2011.md#^28), [29](Matthew%2011.md#^29)? It is the Promise of the rest that the Gospel gives us in Christ. So, as Naomi says this to Ruth and Orpah, she is uttering a Biblical, spiritual truism that we will find rest in our husband's house if we enter into the House of God. ^ruth1-9 > [Ruth 1:10](Ruth%201.md#^10) note > > On the surface, this remark by the two daughters-in-law doesn't make sense. It is one thing for Naomi to return to her people, but Ruth and Orpah cannot really return to the people in Bethlehem, since they do not come from there. They are not citizens of Israel, but citizens of Moab. If God were simply giving us a historical love story, this would probably read, "Surely we will go with thee unto thy people." > > But no, God had a deep spiritual truth for us and so they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to use the word "return" in this remark. > > You see, humanity did not begin as sinners. We were created in the image of God, we began in perfect fellowship with God. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, the progenitors of humanity, walked and talked with God. > > It was after they had eaten the forbidden fruit in rebellion against God that they were driven out of the Garden. As we were all in the loins of Adam, we all have become estranged from God. Like the Moabites, we are all living in a cursed country, spiritually speaking (as we saw in Ephesians 2:12). So, when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, when we become saved, effectively we are returning to God; effectively we are returning to the House of Bread. > > *Prodigal son.* Precisely the same picture is given to us in the parable of the prodigal son in [Luke 15:11-32](Luke%2015.md). He was in his father's household and was enjoying all the blessings of being a son. > > But then he wanted to go his own way. He left home and went into a far country where he wasted his living, where he lived in complete rebellion against his father. > > Then, he became destitute and had no one whatsoever to help him. He was so hungry that he had to eat the slop of the pigs. Now, pigs were cursed animals in that day, so his having to eat what the pigs ate shows how low he had sunken. > > And then his spiritual eyes were opened; he came to his senses. He compared his sorry condition to that of the hired men in his father's house – they had food to spare. And so, he decided to return to his father to be a servant. > > Well, that is the picture of Ruth and Orpah. They are destitute of everything; they have lost their husbands. > > In civilized nations today, there are laws guaranteeing that widows can work and make a living. But in those days, widows could hardly support themselves. Unless their husbands had left them with a fair estate, they were the downtrodden, particularly vulnerable to all kids of terrible things. > > But now, like the prodigal son, they say we will return with thee to thy people. That is the language of someone who discovers their broken spiritual condition, who wants to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are a picture of those who are beginning to think about the true Gospel. ^ruth1-10 > [Ruth 1:11](Ruth%201.md#^11), [12](Ruth%201.md#^12), [13](Ruth%201.md#^13) note > > When we look later at this passage against the backdrop of the Great Commission, we'll find it rather strange. But what Naomi is saying here is reasonable in the historical context. Let's look at the latter first. > > To perpetuate a family line, God had laid down a rule in the Old Testament, in [Deuteronomy 25:5](Deuteronomy%2025.md#^5), [6](Deuteronomy%2025.md#^6). This was the rule which Naomi no doubt has in mind. She and Ruth and Orpah are all widows. But Naomi is an old woman. So, she is telling the two young women that she is too old to bear any more children. If she were younger, she might perhaps marry again and have two more sons who might then become their husbands. But now she is too old to have a husband. > > Besides, she goes on, even if I had a husband right now and did bear two sons, it would take a long, long time before they would come of age. Why should you remain unmarried all this time, waiting for them to grow up? No, my daughters, it would grieve me terribly to see the two of you keep growing older without a husband. That's exactly what I have gone through, as the Lord's hand has gone out against me. > > *Counting the cost.* While historically that makes sense, spiritually that just comes as a blow to us. Here, Ruth and Orpah have just said in [verse 10](Ruth%201.md#^10), "Surely we will return with thee unto thy people." In other words, "We want to believe as you do. We want to be God's people as you are." > > When the people we have witnessed to begin to show interest in Christ, we don't say to them, "No, no, don't you become a Christian. You're not going to be happy being one of us. You're better off staying where you are." Instead, we would typically say in response, "Oh, isn't that wonderful!" And we would follow up with many words of encouragement. > > But wait a minute! We've got to look at more of the Bible than just what we think in our minds. > > In Luke Chapter 14, there is a parallel to what we are reading here in the book of Ruth. [Verse 25](Luke%2014.md#^25) begins, "And there went great multitudes with him (that is, with Jesus)…" These great multitudes of people were following Jesus. You would think that Jesus and the disciples were thoroughly delighted that they had this great following; they would have been well pleased with the success that they were apparently achieving. > > But [verse 25](Luke%2014.md#^25) continues, "and he turned, and said unto them…" Now, notice carefully the solemn language Christ Himself uses in [Luke 14:26](Luke%2014.md#^26), [27](Luke%2014.md#^27). You see, Christ is teaching here that we just don't go out and try to "con" people into the Gospel. We don't go out and tell them all the marvelous benefits of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to give them the whole story. > > We have to tell them very clearly that to become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ means that we have to deny ourselves; it means that we have to give up our own ambitions, our own desires, our own plans for our life. It means we are not going to love the world or anything in the world, but that we are going to have an entirely different lifestyle, different friends, different purposes and goals in life. > > Is Christ telling us to hate our family members? Not really. But if our following Him is going to cause us to be ostracized from our parents or other members of our family, then we must be willing to accept that condition. And if we must choose between loving Christ and loving our family members that are not believers, we are going to choose Christ. > > The Lord says further that to be His disciples, we have to hate even our own life. It means that if our government asks us to deny Christ in any way or else bear the penalty of being thrown to the lions, being brought to the burning stake or just being put in jail, then we must be ready to suffer the consequence. The Christian walk is not easy ([Mt 16:14](Matthew%2016.md#^24)). > > So, returning to our verse in Ruth Chapter 1, even after both young women reiterated their desire to "return with" Naomi, she told them that they would have much to lose going to Bethlehem. > > *Counting the cost.* In [Luke 14:28](Luke%2014.md#^28), [29](Luke%2014.md#^29), [30](Luke%2014.md#^30), [31](Luke%2014.md#^31), [32](Luke%2014.md#^32), the Lord follows up by giving two earthly examples underscoring that those who try to follow Him without counting the cost will only end up in shameful failures. > > The king in the second example typifies God, who on Judgment Day will send all unsaved people to eternal death, eternal punishment for their sins. No one is powerful enough to resist Him. The example thus teaches that while it is still the day of salvation, we should make sure that we are at peace with him, and that the only way to attain that peace is to forsake everything else and become the Lord's disciples. > > *Leaving the world.* For Ruth and Orpah, to go into the land of Israel, an unknown land that they have never seen before, means to leave their own land of Moab where they have their families and friends, and where they can find some measure of security. Naomi thus asks if they really want to leave their homeland and follow her God entirely by faith. That, of course, is what every born-again believer must do. > > We read of Abraham who came out of Ur of the Chaldees. He was told by God to go to a land that God would show him. Abraham had never been there. And yet by faith he went, he obeyed God. He did it even though he had no idea what awaited him in this strange land. He had to leave his family, he had to leave everyone so that he might be obedient to Christ, to God. And that is what God calls upon us when we become a born again believer, when we become a child of God. ^ruth1-11 > [Ruth 1:14a](Ruth%201.md#^14) note > > (This note applies to Ruth 1:14(a). For Ruth 1:14(b), see the note under Ruth 1:15.) > > “And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law;” > > We see here that Orpah has chosen to heed Naomi’s suggestion and remain in Moab. Having spent ten years together with Naomi and Ruth, she is now returning to her own people. It is a touching and poignant parting. As they weep, she kisses Naomi good-bye. > > On the deeper level, she typifies those who are at first intrigued by the Gospel, but who return to their own worldly way of living when they begin to count the cost and learn the truth about God’s salvation plan. > > *Jesus' day.* There were people like that already when Jesus was preaching. In [John 6:62](John%206.md#^62), [63](John%206.md#^63), [64](John%206.md#^64), [65](John%206.md#^65), the Lord told His followers that no man could come to Him, except it were given him of the Father. Once He said that, we see the stark reality in [John 6:66](John%206.md#^66) that many ceased following Him. > > *Rootless.* These Orpah-like followers are also epitomized by the second kinds of people Jesus Illustrates in the parable of the sower. Jesus describes them in [Matthew 13:5](Matthew%2013.md#^5), [6](Matthew%2013.md#^6). The Lord then explains what that part of parable means in [Matthew 13:20](Matthew%2013.md#^20), [21](Matthew%2013.md#^21). > > When Jesus was in Galilee, He fed as many as 4,000 at one time and 5,000 people at another, indicating the size of the huge multitudes that were following Him. And yet, when Christ went to the cross, the number of believers in all Judea were probably not much more than 500 – and that’s after His having preached for three and half years. > > Most of those followers, you see, were like Orpah. They were never rooted in Jesus because they had never been drawn by God the father to come abide with Christ. And so they went back to their people, back to their old way of living. > > *Our Day.* And so it is as we bring the Gospel into the world. Sooner or later, people respond to it in one of two ways. Either they follow Christ as Ruth did or they turn away as Orpah did. Making things worse is that most of today’s churches are no longer preaching the truths of the Bible, and most evangelists are offering sugarcoated gospels that do not bring salvation. > > As a result, much too many people are attracted intellectually or emotionally to Christianity by the claims of these false gospels. Some, like Orpah, may eventually learn the true nature of the Gospel and decide that it is not for them. Most of the rest will live out their life, being deceived into thinking that they have become saved. On Judgment Day, they will be shocked to hear the Lord professing to them that He never knew them ([Mt 7:23](Matthew%207.md#^23)). > > Thankfully, there are still some individual believers and ministries that are faithfully carrying out the Great Commission. And so, those of God’s elect who have not yet become saved will yet be drawn to God, just as Ruth is being drawn to Christ here. ^ruth1-14 > [Ruth 1:14b](Ruth%201.md#^14) - [15](Ruth%201.md#^15) note > > (This note applies to Ruth 1:14(b) - 1:15.) > > From v 14b: “but Ruth clave unto her...” > > Yes, unlike Orpah, Ruth hangs onto Naomi. She does not want to leave. Again, Naomi says to her, in effect, "Why don’t you go back to your own people and your own god as your sister-in-law is doing. Historically, Naomi is still being practical. She is again saying: Do you know what you are doing when you hold onto me this way? Don’t you know that you are leaving your family and friends for a foreign land? > > In the deeper spiritual context, though, she wants to make sure that Ruth is counting the cost. She wants Ruth to truly understand that there is a difference between the Living God of the Bible and the pagan gods of the unsaved world. ^ruth1-15 > [Ruth 1:16](Ruth%201.md#^16) - [17](Ruth%201.md#^17) note > > What a contrast we see here between Orpah and Ruth. Orpah is going back to her people and her god; she expects to find security in Moab, perhaps with a new husband. > > But Ruth is making a powerful profession of devotion. She is determined to stay with her mother-in-law, so she beseeches Naomi not to send her away. She insists that she wants to live wherever Naomi is going to live, and she wants Naomi’s people to be her people, and Naomi’s God to be her God. She wants to be with Naomi until they are finally separated by death. > > *Wedding vows.* Note that what Ruth says here is much like that which is used frequently in marriage ceremonies. A couple getting married are to find their life purposes in each other, and so they declare in their vows: "…for better or for worse…in sickness or in health…till death do us part." > > And certainly it is most appropriate, because under God’s rule, when two people are married they are married for life . The couple shall cleave unto each other and they shall be one flesh ([Mk 10:9](Mark%2010.md#^9)). > > The picture of the husband and wife is, of course, the picture of Christ and the church, the eternal church comprised of the body of believers. So this confession of Ruth bespeaks in a beautiful way the relationship that exists between born-again believers and the Lord Jesus. > > When we have really begun to trust in the Lord, it means that we have abandoned ourselves to Him. We want to live where God wants us to live. We want to be where God’s people are. We want to worship the Lord and the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we die, we want our soul to go where the souls of God’s people go. ^ruth1-16 > [Ruth 1:18](Ruth%201.md#^18) - [19a](Ruth%201.md#^19) note > > (This commentary applies to Ruth 1:18-19(a).) > > Having told Ruth to go back to her own people at least twice, and seeing that Ruth has firmly decided to stay with her, Naomi stops urging her to stay in Moab. Instead, she and Ruth proceed to leave the cursed land of Moab for Bethlehem. > > Likewise, when we witness, we don’t use rose-colored glasses. We tell others the Good News about salvation, of course; but we also let them know that, as believers, they will have to die to their old way of living and that they will have to surrender their life entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ. > > *Follow up.* But when we begin to see in them a sincere desire to follow Christ, we rejoice and encourage them to learn more about what the Christian life is all about. We take them to Bethlehem, to the House of Bread. And, of course, the only place where we can find truths and spiritual nourishment is in the Bible. That is where we find Christ, the Bread of Life. > > See [Hebrews 1:1](Hebrews%201.md#^1), [2](Hebrews%201.md#^2). God used to reveal truths through prophets, as God the Holy Spirit moved them. In these last days He has spoken by His Son, who is the Word of God Himself, and what God wants for us to know is written in the Bible. Hence, the Bible is the only place where we can learn about Who God Is and how He wants us believers to live. > > Moreover, we encourage people to read the Bible because "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" ([Ro 10:17](Romans%2010.md#^17)). It is through His Word that God gives His elect saving faith to begin with, and then the faith to live a victorious Christian life. ^ruth1-18 > [Ruth 1:19b](Ruth%201.md#^19) note > > (For Ruth 1:19(a), see the note under Ruth 1:18.) > > “And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?” > > It had been at least ten years since Naomi left Bethlehem with her family. Now, she is returning as a forlorn and desolate widow, and is accompanied by a daughter-in-law who is also a widow. As her present condition contrasts markedly with the blissful state that she enjoyed when she departed, the two widows obviously become the talk of the town. > > Quite likely, some have pity and compassion on her, while others may look at her with scorn and contempt, upbraiding her for having left her native place. > > On the spiritual level, the word "moved" in the phrase "all the city was moved" has a positive connotation. That same Hebrew word appears in [1 Samuel 4:5](1%20Samuel%204.md#^5) where it is translated "rang again". So here in Ruth, the whole city is emotionally moved by her return. > > You see, Naomi is like the prodigal son that returns. She has gone away from the House of Bread and lived apart from God for ten years. But she has now come back to her senses. So, the people of the city are happily saying, as it were, "Isn’t this Naomi that was lost but is now found?" > > Read the way Jesus describes the return of the prodigal son in [Luke 15:21](Luke%2015.md#^21), [22](Luke%2015.md#^22), [23](Luke%2015.md#^23), [24](Luke%2015.md#^24) and how they began to be merry. ^ruth1-19 > [Ruth 1:20](Ruth%201.md#^20) - [21](Ruth%201.md#^21) note > > You will recall that the name Naomi means "My God is sweet". Naomi had lived in Bethlehem where she and her husband had enjoyed the blessings of God and the fellowship of her people. Her life was full. But a famine hit, they left Bethlehem and went into the land of Moab. > > There, she was much afflicted. She first lost her husband, and later her two sons. Having been so broken, she now realizes that she has nothing. "The LORD has brought me home again empty," she says. So, she tells people not to call her Naomi anymore, but to call her Mara instead. > > Mara means "bitterness". She has come to a point where she realizes that because of the godless life that she has lived, the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with her. > > *Chastisement.* All this illustrates for us a picture of what happens when we turn away from God. > > First of all, we have the natural outworking of sin in our life. When we go our own way we head toward destruction. We may not see this immediately, but we surely will eventually because the wages of sin is death, and the death God has in view is eternal death, or the second death. > > But even before we die, we soon begin to see that God’s blessing is withheld from us. Things are no longer quite the same as they were when we were walking closely with God. The trouble is, more often than not, we won’t repent and return to God until God has broken us. > > We read in [Psalm 51:17](Psalm%2051.md#^17), "...a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." We come to the Lord bringing nothing in our hand. Simply to the cross we cling. > > God chastises everyone He receives, we read in the book of Hebrews. He brings us to a point where we realize that in ourselves we are hopeless. We need to acknowledge that in ourselves there is no way we can get back to the Father. Our good works are worth nothing at all. > > *National Israel.* From yet another vantage point, we see that Naomi is a type of the remnant from national Israel. There was many a period in Israel’s history when the nation was richly blessed of God. When Joshua was their leader, for instance, the twelve tribes were able to defeat all their enemies in the land of Canaan. And the nation later prospered greatly under the kingships of David and Solomon. > > During their 2000-year relationship with God, however, the Israelites were far more often disobedient to God than not. Right from the start He describes them as stiff-necked, or stubborn, people. Repeatedly, they engaged in idolatry and entered into alliances with pagan countries -- even as they hypocritically worshipped God and performed ceremonial rituals. Finally, God delivered Israel into the hands of their enemies and, until the first coming of Christ, sent no word to them through prophets for some four hundred years. > > It was because God had dealt very bitterly with Israel that, by the time Jesus finally came, many Jewish women were called "Mary". Like "Mara" in the Hebrew language, the name "Mary" also means bitterness. ^ruth1-20 > [Ruth 1:22](Ruth%201.md#^22) note > > “So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabites, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab:” > > It is most significant that in the Book of Ruth, God uses the phrase "Ruth the Moabitess" quite a number of times. In this verse, God even emphasizes that Naomi and Ruth the Moabitess returned out of the country of Moab. In chapter 2, we shall see that term appearing in [verse 2](Ruth%202.md#^2) and again in [verse 21](Ruth%202.md#^21). And later on in this book, we are going to read it again and again. > > Considering that this is a love story, you would think that once it has been established in Chapter 1 that Ruth was of the land of Moab, this subject would be dropped, especially since Ruth has so lovingly cast her lot with Naomi. Why remind us constantly of the fact that she was of these cursed people, the Moabites? But God has a reason for rubbing this fact in. > > You see, God is emphasizing that Ruth the Moabitess is a cursed person. For a Moabite to come into the land of Israel was unheard of. And so, again and again God underscores this fact lest we forget, because Ruth is an example of us believers before we were saved, where ultimately, the entire human race is cursed of God. > > Notice how God describes us in [Psalm 58:3](Psalm%2058.md#^3). We are estranged from God the moment we are born. In fact, God moved the psalmist to write more starkly in [Psalm 51:5](Psalm%2051.md#^5) -- as soon as we were conceived in our mother’s womb, we were sinful. > > So, we are like Ruth the Moabitess. Whatever good is going to happen to Ruth in this love story will come by grace alone. God does not want us to ever forget this. We are saved entirely by the grace of God. > > “...and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.” > > Isn’t this interesting that God would include in this love story such a statement --that they arrive at the beginning of the barley harvest? In the context of the story, God is giving us a time clue regarding the courtship of Ruth and Boaz, whom we are going to meet in the next chapter. > > Since the period of harvest typically runs through the summer, the beginning of the harvest would be in the spring months, and the end of the harvest would be in the fall. And since we shall find later that Ruth plights her troth with Boaz at the end of the harvest, we can infer that the courtship of the two covered a period of four or five months. > > But as we have already found from what we have studied so far in the Book of Ruth, every phrase God uses is spiritually significant. Nothing is recorded in the Bible accidentally or incidentally. We therefore wonder what does it mean that they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of the barley harvest. > > *Pentecost.* Remember there was a feast day in which the Jews celebrated the beginning of the harvest, which was Pentecost. (They had another feast that celebrated the end of the harvest – the feast of tabernacles or the feast of ingathering, which was observed in the fall of the year.) > > What is significant about Pentecost? You will recall that it was at Pentecost in AD 33, shortly after Christ ascended into heaven, that the Holy Spirit was poured out. It was at Pentecost that God began His program to evangelize the world. It was then that the New Testament church was formed and the Gospel harvest began to go into all nations. On that first Pentecost afternoon, Peter preached one sermon and three thousand people were saved. > > So, we have here a picture of Ruth and Naomi coming to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. We thus see that Ruth is a figure of people from all nations that will be saved as a result of God’s program to evangelize the world. We have already begun to see this as she casts her lot with Naomi, as she leaves her cursed land of Moab and comes into Bethlehem, the House of Bread, at the beginning of the barley harvest. Because in a substantive sense, the salvation of all nations really began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out, as it was the beginning of the harvest of souls throughout the New Testament era. ^ruth1-22 Tags: #Old_Testament #Ruth #Salvation_picture #FSI