Bible In A Year: Ruth

The book of Ruth records how God preserved a family line during the time of the judges. Ruth, a Moabite widow, leaves her people and commits herself to Naomi, saying, “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” She comes to Bethlehem, where Boaz acts as a redeemer according to the law. Their marriage leads to the birth of Obed, the grandfather of King David. Ruth shows God’s providence and faithfulness in preserving the family line of David.

Transcript

Welcome And Show Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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Why Ruth Depends On Deuteronomy

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Teach Me the Bible Podcast. My name is Alex Wolfe, and I'm here with Dr. David Klingler, and we're going through the Bible in a year, book by book. I want to just give you a quick reminder to hop on over to teachmethebible.com. We have other resources available to you to learn the Bible, such as devotionals and blog posts, questions and answers with David. And so there's all kinds of resources there for you to continue your growth and your understanding of God's word. Today we are in the book of Ruth, which interestingly enough has become one of my favorite books, probably because Deuteronomy is my favorite book, and it's so dependent on that. And so we kind of we've walked through the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. We're kind of into what we were we've called the Deuteronomic Histories. And Ruth kind of finds itself situated in there. And I think it's one of my favorites because when you actually understand it, it's usually it's completely different than what I was originally taught this book meant. And so uh when it actually when you understand it, it comes alive to you. And and so I'm I'm really excited to just dive in.

Dr. David Klingler 1:44

Yeah, uh yeah, well, a big word there, Deuteronomic history. What on earth is that? Well, um, so all of the all of the story after Moses's sermon to Israel. So so Israel's about to take the land, uh, Moses gives his last address to the second generation, and they're gonna take the land. Uh and and this reaffirms the covenant with the second generation, the covenant between the Lord and Israel. And so everything that's gonna happen, really now till the end of the story, is going to be driven by the book of Deuteronomy. And that's uh, and so um there are certain books, the Samuel, Kings, um Ruth would certainly be in there, the prophets, all of them are dependent upon uh upon the book of Deuteronomy.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

Yep.

Ruth’s Genealogy And Perez’s Line

Famine In Judges And Covenant Judgment

Dr. David Klingler 2:33

And uh and so uh and so is Ruth. Now Ruth uh is um if you want to know what what uh a book about a book is about, just go to the end of the book. The end of the book, it ends, uh Ruth ends, chapter four ends with a genealogy. The genealogy begins with Perez, uh to Perez was born Hezron, to Hezron was born Ram, to Ram was born uh Amin Amenadab, Menadab was born Noshan, Noshan, Salomon, Salman, Boaz, Boaz Obed, Obed Jesse, Jesse David. And so this story tells us uh the genealogy, the history of David from Perez to David. Now, why does it begin with Perez? Well, all the way back, and and and so we've got to go back in our memory bank, back in the story, you know, kind of summoned back to uh some really earlier passages, back all the way to Genesis chapter 38. Uh this is when uh when Judah uh has uh twin sons with Tamar. And um and those twin sons, the uh remember the story, what happens? The the firstborn comes out, his hand comes out, uh, and his name is Zerach, and he he comes out and uh and uh they tie a red uh thread around his uh his hand, his hand goes back in, and then Perez comes out and he's named uh Perez, uh uh which means uh uh which means breach because what a breach uh you have made for yourself. And so uh and so you've got uh Perez and you've got Zerach. Now uh as um uh as um uh our uh our friend uh talked us through uh the book of uh the book of Joshua or Warren Truesdale. Um and this and what he's writing his dissertation on is how the how how the the promise went from the firstborn Zeroch to the line of Perez, and that happens in uh uh in Joshua, and and uh you remember may remember we talked about that quite a bit uh a few weeks ago. And so and so the the the line now is in uh in the line of uh of Perez and the story picks it back up, right? So so the the story has kind of left the the promised line for quite a while, but now this story picks back up with this uh character named Ruth. The book's named Ruth. Actually, Ruth isn't the main character of the of the uh of the story, it's actually uh but it is in this family. And so we pick it up in in chapter one. Now it came about in the days that the judges judged, there was a famine in the land. Now, um anytime you're in the the time of the judges, anytime after Deuteronomy, uh the the uh the the the covenant is governing the relationship between Israel and the Lord, right? And so if there's a famine in the land, you're gonna okay, what do they do? Yeah, you're following other gods, whatever is going on. God is judging the people, judging the land. Um, and um and there was a man from Bethlehem of Judah, and so we're in the in the right town. It the town's familiar, uh, went to sojourn or live in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. And the name of the man was Eli Melik, uh uh My God is King. Eli uh El means God, Melech King, my God is king, and his wife's name was Pleasant, Naomi. Uh, and his two sons' names were Mach uh Machlan and Kilion. Um maybe sickly and wasting away. That's kind of a guess. But I wish we would translate those. Yeah, it really is. It really is uh all the names mean something in the story.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Right.

Levirate Marriage And Ruth’s Oath

Dr. David Klingler 6:29

And um uh and you know, so so we're we're kind of the story is kind of walking along with this family as they experience the uh the judgments that are coming from the uh from the the the covenant. Um and so they're expelled from the land, they go to the land of Moab, uh, they live there, they take wives for their two sons. You're not supposed to do that. Uh and Elimelech dies, uh, and um uh and then uh both the sons die, Machlon and Killian, and they've taken two wives, uh Ruth and Orpah. Orpah means neck, Ruth means female companion. And um, and so uh they're there, uh it's not looking good uh for the family, so there's just Naomi and Ruth and Orpah. Uh and uh then um um the Lord visits uh the the Lord uh says the Lord visited his people in uh in back in the land, giving them food, and so the rain has come, Israel's repented, the people are gone back, and so Naomi's going to return back to uh back to her her land, back to her people. Um and uh but she she gives this command in chapter one for her daughters to return. Return, my daughters, why should you go with me? Yet I have I have sons in my womb, or that I may uh that you may have uh that they may be your husbands. Return, my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband. Now, what's going on here? Well, um so it's it's the the law of the lever in marriage, right? So so when a uh when a brother uh was married and that brother dies, uh his his brother, you know, so you know, the the the the brother of the uh of the um of the the the husband, the wife, he's to raise up children for his uh for his brother. Right. That entered the story kind of back with Judah and Tamar. Yeah, yeah, this is yeah, this has been happening and it's presented through the law, yeah. And so uh and so you know, Maikhlon, Rue, so if Machlon dies, Killion had to raise up uh a descendant for uh for his brother, uh his deceased brother, and for Naomi. But what happens if all the men in the family die? You know, so this is what Naomi's saying. Well then uh am I gonna go, I gotta go get married, uh, I gotta raise up a son so that you can have a brother, you know, have a and then you'd be old as the hills by the time that happens. That's the loose translation. But but that's the intent, right? She uh be too old. Are you gonna wait until they're grown? Uh would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it is harder for me than it is for you. Uh the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. And so they lifted up their voices, they wept, and Oprah uh kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her, and that that clung language, that uh that language comes from Genesis 2 2 24. Uh then she said, Behold, your sister has gone back with her people, with her gods, return with your sister-in-law. Now boy. Yeah, now we're in trouble. Um back to Deuteronomy chapter 13. Every verse, if you don't know Deuteronomy, you're not going to make sense of any of this because uh you got the famine, uh, they're dying in a foreign land, uh, Israel's repenting, they're returning, uh the lever marriage, and then then Naomi saying, Right, go back to your people, go back to your gods. There are so every verse, literally every verse in uh in these books is dependent upon understanding the law. And if you don't understand the law, then you're not gonna be able to interpret this. And so and so Naomi is telling Ruth to return to her people, her gods. So chapter uh one, verse 14. But Ruth clung to her. So that's Genesis 2, 24, uh, one man, one woman, one flesh, she's in this covenant family. She's now by marriage in the in the really in the promised line, which we come to find out. Right. Uh, and and Naomi is telling her, Go back to your gods. Right. Uh and so in Deuteronomy chapter 13, uh, if a prophet or dreamer of dreams or anyone arises among you and tells you to go after other gods, uh you're to kill 'em. Yeah, you're you're to execute him. If it's your brother. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Your your your female companion, maybe it doesn't matter who it is. Um, and so uh and saying, you know, this is a high offense, telling uh a fellow covenant member to go follow other gods. Right. But Ruth says, Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you, for where I go, uh for where you go, I go, where you uh lodge, I lodge, is how where your people, my people, your God, my God, where you die, I die, and there I'll be buried. Uh thus may the Lord do to me, or worse, if and they they the numerical standard sticks in here, if anything but that's not in the text. If if anything if death, even if death departs me and you. In other words, um you know, where you're buried, I'm gonna be buried. Your your bone box is my bone box. You know, that this is when they uh when they uh buried someone, they you know, they put them in the in the tomb, and then at the end of when you know they they allowed the the you know the the body to decay and then they took the bones and they put them in a box at the end, and the next one went in, and Naomi's saying, I'm gonna be next. I'm going right there with you.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

That's a lot more powerful than anything.

Dr. David Klingler 12:11

Nothing is separating me and you, right? You're stuck with me forever. Uh and so um, and so when she saw that she was determined, when when Naomi sees that Ruth is determined, um, they go back and they go back to Bethlehem, and the women of the town say, Oh, look, you know, Naomi, pleasant's back, and she says, Don't call me pleasant, call me bitter. Call me bitter. For the for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. Right. And and what what we're gonna see and what we're gonna watch in this story is that actually through the faithfulness of Ruth and through the faithfulness of Boaz, the Lord actually doesn't deal um harshly with Naomi at all. In fact, very mercifully. Yes, uh, and um so good. Uh and uh at the by the end of this story, chapter four, uh Naomi's gonna take the a child's gonna be born to Ruth. Naomi's gonna take the child, and the women are going to say, A son has been born to Naomi. Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

And so and so uh yeah, the Lord's gonna be very gracious to her, in spite of her rebellion, in spite of her telling, you know, giving these uh commands to go after other gods, and right and so yeah, and I think in in the past, you know, the way I had understood this book or how it'd been taught to me was Naomi's kind of the sympathetic figure, you're supposed to feel bad and all these things. But in the way we're talking about it, I mean Naomi kind of sets herself up as an antagonist in the world. She's the negative, she's a negative covenant against Ruth, yeah. And so, but in the end, it's Naomi that's redeemed.

Gleaning Laws And Boaz’s Character

Dr. David Klingler 13:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's through the actions of a Moabitus, yeah. Um, which they weren't supposed to be in the covenant community. Uh and uh and so chapter two begins now. Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a they translate it a man of great wealth, um, from the family of Elimelech. Uh it is a uh Gebor Khail is the uh uh it's a uh a man of uh Chail is strength. They're trying to figure out what the strength is. Well, uh he's actually going to say later, he's gonna commend um Ruth for not going after anyone um you know, anyone young or anyone, you know, well rich. You know, so he can't be a man of great wealth. I mean, that contradicts what what actually comes later in the story. Yeah, because he he calls her an Isha. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's not rich. Yes, yeah, actually, yeah, she's yeah, so so it's this character issue that uh uh that he was a man of strength of character, he was a man of covenant, right? Right. Uh and Ruth the Moabidas says, uh, you know, so so um that there's this uh Boaz uh from the family of Elimelech, um, as we learn in the story, this is Elimelech's younger brother. Um probably he's not the next immediate, so so we were tracking the genealogy through Elimelech. So Imelech was was probably the firstborn, the oldest, and then you've got uh a brother in between them. And the way that the Leverett marriage thing went, the way the redemption process went, the uh was uh was the the next brother in line was up, and right, and he's not going to uh to do his duty. Uh and so um Ruth of Moabitus said to Naomi, please let me go into the field and glean from among the ears of grain. Now you've got several passages there in Leviticus uh uh where uh there was provision for the orphan, the widow, the alien, the poor to go into a field and to glean. And so uh gleaning, what's gleaning? Well, uh, if the if the crop, if the seed, if uh if whatever the harvest was fell to the ground, then it belonged to the orphan, the widow, the alien, the poor.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

And she's kind of all of those.

Dr. David Klingler 16:04

Oh, yeah, she yeah, she's she's putting the trifecta, yeah, she's got it all. And um also in the corners of the fields, and uh, and they you know, there was provision in the law uh for the the poor among them, and so she requests to go and uh and uh she she knows the law. What's amazing all the way through this this story is how well Ruth knows the law. Yeah, and uh and apparently Naomi doesn't, or at least she's against it, yeah.

unknown 16:34

Right.

Dr. David Klingler 16:36

And so uh, you know, may I go glean uh among the ears uh after one whose sight I might find favor? And she said, Go, my daughter, and so she departed, and it just so happens. She happens onto the field, happens on top of the field. You know, just by God's sovereign, you know, direction and provision, she just wanders into the field of Boaz, who is of the family of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem with his reapers and uh you know uh and said to his reapers, uh, May the Lord be with you. And he said, May the Lord be with you. And uh and uh he looks out there and he sees this new um this new uh girl out there, this new lady out there, and so he uh makes request of her. Um uh Who is this young Moabite woman? Uh who is this woman? And you know, the answer is that she's the young Moabite woman who returned with no Naomi from the land of Moab. And she said, Please let us uh let me glean in the among the the fields, and and she's been there from the morning until now, and now she's sitting in the house. And so that's all that the narrator tells. So we know that uh that that uh Ruth is a an alien, we know that she's a widow, we know that she's poor, uh, and uh and we know that uh that that Boaz has been told who she is, right? Now one of the things that happens in our Americanized version of the book of Ruth is you've got the romance version. Yeah, yeah, you've got like uh you know double oh seven, you know, 007 playing the role of uh of uh of Boaz, and you've got you know some supermodel playing the uh the role of Ruth. Uh that that it doesn't say that. Uh what you know, it says that she's a she's a widow, that she's an alien, that she's poor, yeah, uh, and that she's returned, uh faithfully returned uh to care for her mother-in-law, and and um and uh you know I always laughingly say, you know, she could have been as ugly as the day is long. We don't know what she looked like, it doesn't say. And so we we idealize it, we romanticize it. But uh, you know, it this is a love story, sure enough, but it's a love story uh about uh God's covenant provision and these people's love for the Lord and love for his law. Yeah uh and so Boaz says to Ruth, he he hears who she is and says to her, Don't go into any other field. Uh you stay in this field, and uh and um and glean here, uh, and so uh so she does, and so she she eats and uh she's satisfied, and she goes back and tells uh she goes back and tells her uh uh uh her mother-in-law, and the mother-in-law comes with this up with this great plan. Here's what we're gonna do, right? Um we're going to uh wait till he's good and drunk uh and then we're gonna sleep with him. Now that should sound familiar. Yeah, if you remember the story of Lot and his daughters, that's how we got here with the Moabites. Right. Yeah, that's the whole tribe of Moab came to be. Came, yeah. That's right. Uh that that so so um, you know, that's a bad plan. I've heard bad plans. That's a bad plan. But that's Naomi's plan.

Naomi’s Risky Scheme On The Threshing Floor

SPEAKER_02 19:57

Uh which is very ironic. It's it's absolutely the Moabites. Yeah, it's absolutely ironic.

Dr. David Klingler 20:02

There's this there's this turnabout, and so off she goes, and off Ruth goes, and you think, well, that's what Ruth's gonna do. And and uh sure enough, they're there on the threshing floor, and uh it says when he uh when he was um had eaten and drunk, when Boaz has eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, and he went to lie down in the heap of grain. Uh then uh uh he lays down and behold, there's this woman at his feet. Uh and uh you know, who are you? And says, I'm Ruth, your uh your your maid. Spread your covering over your maid, for you are a uh uh a redeemer, you're a you're a close relative, you're a redeemer. Uh and uh then he says, you know, so he she doesn't follow the she, you know, he weigh, he sees her, she says, Um, by the way, you have a covenant responsibility to this family, right? That's not how this thing was supposed to go, right? I mean, she just yeah, I can imagine she just stuck her finger in his chest and said, You got a responsibility, you're gonna drop it. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I do too, right? We're gonna raise up a child, a descendant for this line, uh, and this is not negotiable. And and um uh and uh so um you know, but Boaz says, Look, I hear what you're saying, and you're right, but I'm not the next in line, right? So so I'm not the the next youngest brother. There's one older than me. Uh and so you you know, we got to go through the process.

Ruth Demands Redemption The Right Way

SPEAKER_02 21:30

There's his there's his uh Ishail coming out. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

The Closest Redeemer Refuses And Is Forgotten

Dr. David Klingler 21:34

He knows the law and he's he's sticking to it. Yep, and he responds to and so they go and they check with this uh with this closer relative. And of course, you know, to you know, there's you're not only redeeming the the family, you're redeeming the land, and you know, which means you get the possession of the land. He goes, Oh, yeah, I like that. You know, yeah, I'll take the land. Oh, you also have to take this Moabitis. Well, she said, first of all, if she sets this stupid. For model, great catch. You should be all about it. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, that's kind of how we paganize it and uh and uh you know romanticize it. Um you know, he's he don't want anything to do with her, right? He says, No, no, uh, you know, I'm out, right? Uh and so uh this is in chapter four. Boaz goes and the guy's passing by and and he says, I'm not interested in uh in that, and so he's uh you know, his he you know his name is is and we don't know his name because in the law, if if you won't redeem your your brother, your brother's family, uh then uh then your name is removed, right? Your name is removed from uh from the history of Israel. So we don't know his name. But then Boaz comes back in and Boaz um uh fulfills his covenant responsibility, uh raises up uh seed, raises up a descendant uh for Ruth uh and not only for Ruth, but for Naomi. Uh and uh and so it is this story of covenant faithfulness uh between two people, between Ruth, a Moabitus, and uh and Boaz, uh this man of faithfulness. So you've got a Gabor Chail and an Ishit Chail, uh a man of strength, a women, a woman of strength, uh the that that uh that woman of strength uh phrase uh most of our uh women in the uh will will recognize this. This is uh chapter 31 of uh of Proverbs, an excellent wife who can find an Ishit Chail, who who can find and actually uh in Hebrew Bible, the this book actually follows Proverbs, right? That's uh in the writings. And so you've got chapter 31, an excellent wife who can find. Yeah, they they put this next book, they say, We got one right here. Here she is, she's uh her name is Ruth, yeah. And um and so the woman of uh said to Naomi, so she has uh this uh child, she gave birth to a son. Uh then the woman said to Naomi, Blessed is the Lord um who has not left you without a redeemer today. May his name become famous in Israel, and may he also be a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, is better than seven sons. And she has given birth to him. Then uh Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap, and became his nurse, and uh uh and the the uh neighbor women gave him a name uh and said, A son has been born to Naomi, and so they called his name Obed, which means servant. Um and he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Wow. Uh and so just uh a great story. So this is this is a story that that when you're moving from the the judges and the failure of the judges, and uh, and then at the end of the book of Judges, you're you're starting to evaluate the priests, and the repeated refrain at the end of the book of Judges, chapter 17 uh through 21, is there was no king in Israel, every man did what was right in his own eyes. The story's heading towards a king. Yeah, uh, it needs to be a king of Judah, it needs to be a king from the line of Perez. Uh and so, you know, this is like the narrator saying, Oh, by the way, yeah, you're gonna need to know this story before you can go any further because they're gonna ask for a king, they're gonna shaol for a king, and they're gonna be given Saul. What we know is Saul the king. Yeah, Saul's gonna uh have this kingdom taken from him, and David's gonna become king, yeah, and that's where we get David, this genealogy here. So it's a great story.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

Great story.

Obed Is Born And David’s Story Advances

Dr. David Klingler 25:55

Uh and uh it's it's one of begins with no seed and ends with a seed with uh with a descendant. Yeah, this has happened several times. You know, the the the it seems as if the promise has hit a dead end. Yeah. Uh it's hit a dead end with uh with Abraham and Sarah. She's she's old, she can't have kids and and miraculously has a kid. And Rebecca is uh, you know, she's barren, and you you just get this over and over and over, this this kind of hitting the dead end all the way uh through the uh through the story, and the Lord continues to just come through and provide um through people's faithfulness. And yeah, so it's an amazing story.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

Sure is amazing story. You know, and I think this book also one of the things that that uh part of the reason I enjoy because like you said, just about every verse, every line is straight out of the the law. I mean everything in here, and so it's a really good example uh to to learn from of um how the Bible uses itself, just how it builds upon itself. And so if you know the law, then this book is gonna make a whole lot more sense to you. And so that's a good exercise.

Dr. David Klingler 27:04

Yeah, if you start a watching a movie in the middle of the movie, right? It's not gonna make much sense. You can pick up some things, right? Um but every scene is progressing, it's moving the plot along. Uh, and so it is uh next time when we pick it up in 1 Samuel, it's the same thing. You need to know uh the the Old Testament history, you need to know the law, otherwise, none of this is gonna make any sense. So you so uh I would say um Ruth is prototypical of every book that follows Deuteronomy.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

Yeah, it's it's every verse is necessary for you to know the law. And the reason I emphasize that so much, I got in a discussion with an old friend, and and I'm trying to tell him, man, you gotta know Deuteronomy. Like this is referencing that. Well, he says, Well, if it's referencing that, don't you think it would just tell you explicitly that's what I mean? Well, this is just how story works. Right. And so that's how we uh I mean, even the little details of of not naming the middle brother, you know, bologna alimony, but you know, old no name or whatever that is, that detail comes straight out of the law. You don't follow through with this, your name is removed. Removed from the book. Right. Um these details are just amazing.

Dr. David Klingler 28:13

So yeah, and and if you're watching a movie, they don't say now remember back two scenes ago when uh you know, you know, no, you watch the movie. That's right. But we want to we want to be spoon-fed. We we don't want to have to in you know, and we we don't want to treat the Bible as if it's narrative literature, as if it's a story. We want to just be told what to believe. We become lazy and say, give me uh a verse to live by. Right. Uh instead of giving me a story of the revelation of God's character and plan to live by. Yeah. Uh just give me a little bullet point, give me a bumper sticker, give me a um, you know, a little little tidbit, a little phrase to put on my uh on my refrigerator, and that that's all I want.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Yeah, that's good. Well, awesome. What a great book. You got any last thoughts as we conclude and and kind of move on to the next? Nope. We're next uh next time. We're in first Samuel. We're in first Samuel. All right. Well, we're gonna keep on plugging in. Thank you for tuning in at Teach Me the Bible Podcast, and we're gonna continue on and pick up in Samuel next time.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

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