observations and questions ...
I am finished with Ruth. I realized all over again as I mused and meditated on this delightful little book that I love it! For a short book ~ 4 short chapters ~ it is crammed with characters that come to life, with poignant emotion, with STORY, and with truth.
I love Naomi! She captivated my imagination. I have heard sermons about the book, not many ok, but some. The worst I ever heard was something along the line that God had punished this woman and her family because they abandoned Him and Israel by going to Moab and that is why the men in Naomi's family died. It tied the book to the theme scripture in Judges, Judg 21:25:
In those days Israel had no king ; everyone did as he saw fit. NIV
I am so glad that I do not remember who preached that blather, that rot! You can tell, I hope, that I completely disagree! RIDICULOUS!!
In fact, what I saw in Naomi was a woman of faith who was human and very REAL, who loved God, and was driven by faith. God is not 'present or active' as a main character in this little book, but you can ~ as it were ~ see His fingerprints on all the events. Naomi must have lived a love relationship with God vital enough that Ruth says, "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." (Ruth 1:16-17) Something about Naomi's relationship with God translated 'evangelistically' to Ruth: Ruth chooses God because she has seen Naomi's relationship with Him. And, as I said before in the earlier blog...what an amazing woman Naomi must have been to have Ruth beg to come with her, and come with her when it meant the chance she would live in poverty and widowhood in a foreign nation where it was very likely she would be shunned and rejected. I love that Naomi is real ~ I love the scene where she tells her friends "call me Mara"... not saccharine sweet "oh life is good, blah blah blah". She blames God:
"... the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." (Ruth 1:20-21) Yet we do not see God "retaliating" for the insult with tragedy or loss, in fact from that time every event goes from good to better to best ~ Ruth 'happens' to glean in Boaz's field, he 'happens' to notice Ruth and shower her with care, protection and bounty, Boaz 'happens' to be single and childless and willing to be a kinsman-redeemer. On the first day when Ruth comes home with the extra grain and tells Naomi about her day, you see the heart of Naomi in her immediate praise to God:
"The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." (Ruth 2:20)
I love all the "co-incidences". They arrive back at the barley harvest (OK, Naomi may have timed that one...but still), it is Boaz's field Ruth goes to...she didn't know and she might have chosen any field, the whole Boaz notices Ruth thing, the closest kinsman-redeemer IS married and DOES NOT want the deal for the land if it means he must have Ruth in the bargain. I love it! I feel like God is telling me in all this that He is busy "turning all things to the good". God turns things for Naomi ... a great daughter-in-law who marries well and has a son; for Ruth...a wonderful home with a prosperous husband and a son; for Boaz...a young wife and a family; and even for the un-named (I called him Elias but that was just my idea) closer kinsman ~ he might have suffered great shame had Ruth gone to him and he rejected her and Naomi. SUCH a happy ending!! Don't you think this would be a stand-up and cheer movie...maybe it could even be a musical!
I love (OK, this is my interpretation and I admit I am reading between the lines, but ... this is what I think) the subtle picture of a man falling in love. Boaz asks his foreman about her...invites her to lunch, tells his men to keep away from her, tells his foreman to let her glean even in the sheaves and to have the harvesters purposely drop grain for her. Yeah, I think he was smitten. I love the scene at the city gate where he 'sets up' the closer kinsman...such a deal I have for you. I wonder that this has not been made into a movie. Such a great love story!!!
Ok, now questions:
This book is clearly an intro to the David story. The end of the book makes that obvious!
Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. 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. (Ruth 4:16 - 22)
So, why was it so important to write about a Moabite ancestor of David? I get it in the Matthew geneology. Matthew is making a point about Jesus' history and the redemptions and ties to the nations. (You might want to read Beth's blog and also the actual geneology in Matthew, and then cross reference the stories of all the women Matthew mentions. Really ... you should) What I do not understand is why this story made good "press" for David ~ would you want to link a king to a Moabite line? really??? would you want to resurrect the Judah/Tamar scandal? I can see the wonder of it NOW, but then??? hmmm?!?
And then...just a few little questions:
Why did the women in the town get to name Ruth and Boaz's son? The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. (Ruth 4:17) Does the "they" mean the women, or does it mean Ruth and Boaz? (I think it is possible that a real Hebrew scholar ~ which I am most definitely NOT ~ could clarify the pronoun conundrum) Why did the elders bring up the Judah/Tamar/Perez story as a blessing to Boaz?
Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah." Ruth 4:11-12
I don't have any answers ... I just wonder.
I love Naomi! She captivated my imagination. I have heard sermons about the book, not many ok, but some. The worst I ever heard was something along the line that God had punished this woman and her family because they abandoned Him and Israel by going to Moab and that is why the men in Naomi's family died. It tied the book to the theme scripture in Judges, Judg 21:25:
In those days Israel had no king ; everyone did as he saw fit. NIV
I am so glad that I do not remember who preached that blather, that rot! You can tell, I hope, that I completely disagree! RIDICULOUS!!
In fact, what I saw in Naomi was a woman of faith who was human and very REAL, who loved God, and was driven by faith. God is not 'present or active' as a main character in this little book, but you can ~ as it were ~ see His fingerprints on all the events. Naomi must have lived a love relationship with God vital enough that Ruth says, "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." (Ruth 1:16-17) Something about Naomi's relationship with God translated 'evangelistically' to Ruth: Ruth chooses God because she has seen Naomi's relationship with Him. And, as I said before in the earlier blog...what an amazing woman Naomi must have been to have Ruth beg to come with her, and come with her when it meant the chance she would live in poverty and widowhood in a foreign nation where it was very likely she would be shunned and rejected. I love that Naomi is real ~ I love the scene where she tells her friends "call me Mara"... not saccharine sweet "oh life is good, blah blah blah". She blames God:
"... the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." (Ruth 1:20-21) Yet we do not see God "retaliating" for the insult with tragedy or loss, in fact from that time every event goes from good to better to best ~ Ruth 'happens' to glean in Boaz's field, he 'happens' to notice Ruth and shower her with care, protection and bounty, Boaz 'happens' to be single and childless and willing to be a kinsman-redeemer. On the first day when Ruth comes home with the extra grain and tells Naomi about her day, you see the heart of Naomi in her immediate praise to God:
"The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." (Ruth 2:20)
I love all the "co-incidences". They arrive back at the barley harvest (OK, Naomi may have timed that one...but still), it is Boaz's field Ruth goes to...she didn't know and she might have chosen any field, the whole Boaz notices Ruth thing, the closest kinsman-redeemer IS married and DOES NOT want the deal for the land if it means he must have Ruth in the bargain. I love it! I feel like God is telling me in all this that He is busy "turning all things to the good". God turns things for Naomi ... a great daughter-in-law who marries well and has a son; for Ruth...a wonderful home with a prosperous husband and a son; for Boaz...a young wife and a family; and even for the un-named (I called him Elias but that was just my idea) closer kinsman ~ he might have suffered great shame had Ruth gone to him and he rejected her and Naomi. SUCH a happy ending!! Don't you think this would be a stand-up and cheer movie...maybe it could even be a musical!
I love (OK, this is my interpretation and I admit I am reading between the lines, but ... this is what I think) the subtle picture of a man falling in love. Boaz asks his foreman about her...invites her to lunch, tells his men to keep away from her, tells his foreman to let her glean even in the sheaves and to have the harvesters purposely drop grain for her. Yeah, I think he was smitten. I love the scene at the city gate where he 'sets up' the closer kinsman...such a deal I have for you. I wonder that this has not been made into a movie. Such a great love story!!!
Ok, now questions:
This book is clearly an intro to the David story. The end of the book makes that obvious!
Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. 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. (Ruth 4:16 - 22)
So, why was it so important to write about a Moabite ancestor of David? I get it in the Matthew geneology. Matthew is making a point about Jesus' history and the redemptions and ties to the nations. (You might want to read Beth's blog and also the actual geneology in Matthew, and then cross reference the stories of all the women Matthew mentions. Really ... you should) What I do not understand is why this story made good "press" for David ~ would you want to link a king to a Moabite line? really??? would you want to resurrect the Judah/Tamar scandal? I can see the wonder of it NOW, but then??? hmmm?!?
And then...just a few little questions:
Why did the women in the town get to name Ruth and Boaz's son? The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. (Ruth 4:17) Does the "they" mean the women, or does it mean Ruth and Boaz? (I think it is possible that a real Hebrew scholar ~ which I am most definitely NOT ~ could clarify the pronoun conundrum) Why did the elders bring up the Judah/Tamar/Perez story as a blessing to Boaz?
Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah." Ruth 4:11-12
I don't have any answers ... I just wonder.
Comments
Post a Comment