1. The days of the judges (v.1a)
The Book of Ruth begins by telling us just when it is set: "In the days when the judges ruled". So what were those days like? It was a time of moral anarchy and spiritual apostasy. The book of Judges is shocking reading, especially when we find our own hearts mirrored there.
The refrain that recurs towards the end of the book gives us a summary of what life was like: "In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit" (17:6; 21:25). As you look around today, there are many parallels both outside and inside the church. What was a criticism of the time of the judges has been elevated to a virtue today and the ruling philosophy in society: do what you want.
But the book of Judges shows just what a terrible harvest is reaped from such an approach to life. There is mass slaughter and the people of Israel turning upon each other. There is repeated failure to honour the LORD and to walk in his ways.
In v.1 we're clearly expected to read Ruth against that background. But the link is even stronger than that. Read ch.17-21 of Judges and you'll notice Bethlehem gets mentioned quite a bit. In 17,18 a young Levite from there gets work as a private priest to a man named Micah (17:5ff). He's then taken on by the tribe of Dan and helps to establish a worship centre that will be a stumbling-block to the people in their relationship with the LORD.
Then in ch.19-21 a Levite from Ephraim took a girl from Bethlehem as his concubine. After she is raped by men from Gibeah, there is mass murder within the people of Israel, tribe against tribe, and Benjamite men having to get foreign wives for themselves to preserve their family line.
Now, the book of Ruth is like a brilliant gem that is found in the midst of a squalid mess. Here we have people within Israel acting as they should and even a non-Israelite too. Here we have true community and the right God-honouring way of preserving your family line.
And the story gets its points across very beautifully as the story is told with craft and care. One interesting contrast with Judges is that in Judges, the LORD often speaks and acts directly. In Ruth he is only ever spoken of and only twice is he said to have acted directly. His ways are sometimes hidden but they are nevertheless effective.
But that doesn't mean that everything in this story is sweetness and light. Just as the beauty of a pearl grows out of unwanted grit and dirt, so too this gem of a book grows out of real hardship, hard choices and a pain almost beyond our imagining.
What we see in this story is the grace of God at work in the lives of ordinary people. In the whirlpool of the Judges period, here we find ordinary Israelites living out the reality of life with God and with each other. They set us an example and act as a powerful encouragement to us that we too can do the same. You see, it is possible to live significantly in the midst of the most terrible apostasy and darkness. You don't need to be a big-time player on the stage of life; here are quite insignificant people whose lives, in God's hands, count and count greatly.
2. To Moab or Not? (vv.1b,2)
The first scene brought before us in the book is heavily ironic. In scripture, names are often extremely significant; well, here we see that there is famine in the land and that it extends to the town whose name means 'House of Bread'. Something is clearly wrong. And caught-up in this desperate situation is a man and his family and his name joyously declares 'My God is King'. There is no bread in the House of Bread and not much sign of God being King (at least not in the way you might hope if he was your God).
If you're a man in that situation, what do you do? The famine is not worldwide; other countries still have food - Moab is one of them and it's close by. Should you go there? It seems to be a straightforward choice: death in Bethlehem or life in Moab. And there are precedents in scripture for just such a choice - didn't Abraham go down to Egypt during a time of famine? And what about Joseph - might their going to Moab be a way of the Lord acting to save the whole nation?
Whilst the text is not explicitly condemnatory, we are invited to reflect and to soberly assess our own situations in the light of what Elimelech does here.
- He took his family to Moab and they survived the famine but the choice of Moab is far from straightforward. Moab was born as a result of the sordid, faithless action of Lot's daughters; as a people they were longstanding enemies of Israel (remember Balak?). In Num. 25 the men of Israel got involved in immorality with Moabite women; in Deut 23:3 we read no Moabite is to be allowed into the assembly of the LORD. Should an Israelite go to Moab of all places?
- And why is there famine in the land? This is the promised land after all. Hadn't the LORD promised to bless his people there? Yes, but he had also promised to curse them if they turned from him and his covenant (just as they did 'in the days of the Judges'). So is going to Moab running away from his discipline rather than submitting to it? The right attitude is spoken of in Ps. 33:18,19.
- And the family's actions would have a significance for the whole town. The fact that they are called “Ephrathites” shows that they were probably a long-standing family in the town, known by everyone. Their example would be seen as important and could easily have led others to make a similar move.
His actions speak of genuine desperation; even the most spiritually-calloused Israelite would have thought twice about going to Moab. But whilst we can sympathise with his plight, we need to learn hard lessons from his response to it. When we face difficult situations and hard choices, there are many things to weigh up. It's never simply about our needs, however pressing they may seem.
Before taking what seems the obvious way, we need to ask questions of ourselves and of the situation. Will this route supply my need but dull my sense of spiritual priorities? Will this way take me too far into a place where the world will try to squeeze me into its mould? Are there genuine biblical precedents or am I only seeing what I want to see? What will the impact be on others - will I cause them to stumble?
Moab was attractive because of the food but on other counts not so. They only went for a while (v.1) but we're told that they ended up staying there (v.2). Those little time details in the text are very telling and are a great warning to us - the way out is often relatively easy; the way back is far, far harder. "I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back" sang Gordon Lightfoot; when that's true spiritually, it's a fearful thing.
3. A Family Lost (vv.3,4)
The choice is made; the die is cast. And then the cast of this story starts to die. Elimelech is taken. The details are very sparse but the impact on Naomi would be very great indeed; we'll think more about her situation next time.
But even though the loss of Elimelech is great, at least there are two sons left. The text twice tells us about the "two sons" (vv.2,3) and it would seem for a moment that the family's future security lies within those references - isn't that how the Lord works? Cain and Abel; Isaac and Ishmael; Jacob and Esau - surely salvation for this family wil arise through one of these boys? That's God's way isn't it?
But no. Elimelech dies and instead of one of the boys taking the initiative to move the family back into the promised land and under the covenant-shelter of the Lord, they both marry Moabite women. Their lot, their future, has been well and truly wedded to Moab and its gods.
And then, ten years after arriving in Moab, both Mahlon and Kilion also die. They went to Moab for seed and their seed is lost. They went to preserve their future and now the future is dead. The only hope for the remnants of this family can be with the LORD - yet they have forsaken him. So there can be no happy ending.
That would be true if everything depended on our faithfulness to the Lord but, mercifully, it doesn't. When we are faithless, he remains faithful because he cannot deny himself. And so, even if we didn't know this story, we ought to be on the alert for what the God of grace will do. Be alert in your own situation and in others' lives too for what he will do in mercy and kindness. Wrong choices yield a bitter harvest (as Naomi will painfully acknowledge) but this story is about the far greater, far sweeter, purposes of God.
