49. Beginner Bible Course: The story of Ruth and Boaz!

EPISODE 49  The simple Bible overview of…THE STORY OF RUTH AND BOAZ

The book that follows the book of judges is the book of Ruth Ruth should have been smack dab in the middle of judges for it happened smack dab in the middle of the period of the judges, probably during the time of Gideon at a time where everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. The story of Ruth records, a man and a woman who do what is right. I hate to be a spoiler, but this is my podcast. So I'm going to tell you this story. A couple, a hemolytic, a Naomi lived near Bethlehem. They have two boys, a severe famine comes forcing them to flee the area. They flee of all places to the enemy country of Moab while they were there.

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Tragedy strikes for Naomi Elimelech. Her husband dies lingering because of famine. Her two sons fall for two Moabite, women or Papa, and Ruth then double tragedy strikes. Naomi. Again, both her sons die leaving her with her two Moabite widows. Naomi becomes a bitter woman bitter at God. In fact, she changes her name to Mara, which means bitter I'm bitter. God has treated me bitterly soon. She decides to move back to her own people. They head West, but don't get very far before the bitter. Naomi turns to her two daughters in law and says go home or buy gives her a kiss and probably with a sigh of relief.

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Head's back. He is to our own people. Ruth wouldn't budge. She clung to her bitter mother-in-law and then she made this oath. Don't beg me to leave you or to stop from following after you for where you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge your people will be my people and your God, my God, where you die, I'll die. And there I will be buried. May God do to me and even more. So if anything, but death separates us. Wow. A Moabite widow making a forever pledge to her bitter Jewish. Mother-in-law imagine two widows with no one to care for them.

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Heading back to Israel where everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Well not everyone. Back in the Bethlehem area, they settle into an impoverished life. Ruth gets up early and goes out into a neighboring field to glean. God had instructed in his law to allow people to glean in your fields and among your groves. They were not to pick their fields and vineyards clean. This was God's welfare system Ruth happens on the field of a man named Boaz in a nation where everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Boaz does right by Ruth. He allows her to glean in his fields.

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In fact, he instructs his workers to drop a little extra. God had commanded them to receive and protect the aliens among them. And that's precisely what did he instructed? His workers don't even think about bothering this woman. Got it. Ruth was struck by this kind, man. Why are you treating me like this? He responds, I've heard about your kindness to your mother-in-law. I think it's amazing. Ruth gets home with a real haul from gleaning. She describes her day to her. Mother-in-law when Ruth drops the name of the owner of the field to her mother-in-law Naomi goes white. The man is a close relative to two widows, a lifeboat under God's law.

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If a man died and left a widow, his near relative was asked to marry her, have children and continue the family line. She explains this to her. Daughter-in-law Ruth. The Moabite as Boaz is invited her to continue to come back and glean during the entire harvest. And she takes them up on it. You get the idea from the story that they both like each other though. Boaz is a bit older with the harvest. Almost complete. Naomi comes up with a plan for Ruth. The next night will be a harvest party. She gives Ruth some instructions and Ruth lessons. Remember during the time of Gideon, the Midianites would swoop in and steal or destroy Israel's harvest.

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So the owner and his workers would sleep around the grain piles. Boaz goes and lays down by one of the piles and falls asleep. Ruth tiptoes up to Boaz and lies down by his feet. Boaz awakes. When he asked, who is it? His feet in the dark. She says, it's me. Ruth cover me with your blanket. Ruth is following Naomi's orders to the tee. She's not being inappropriate or flirty. She's proposing to Boaz. In saying, cover me with your blanket. She's saying, do what God asked you to do to widows with no sons Boaz is overjoyed. He accepts, but then he realized there was one small problem.

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There was an order of priority for marrying a widow without a son under God's laws. He was number two in line. There was one ahead of him. Wait a minute. Boaz you clearly like this girl. She wants to be your wife. This is the time where everyone does what's right in their eyes, marry the girl. But you don't know Boaz Boaz was a man who wanted to do what was right the next morning. He summoned the first in line to the city Gates, where business was done. He explained the situation. He explained that there was Naomi's sons land involved. The first in line was excited doing to increase his land portfolio.

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Then Boaz reminded him of the other part of God's law, taking on the widow and, and raising up a family who had inherit that property. Number one wanted no part of that there at the city gate, number one, signed a release and Boaz made it official. He would marry the widow, Ruth the Moabite, and take in Naomi, her widowed mother-in-law Boaz and Ruth were married. And soon she was carrying Boaz baby. Suddenly Marra was Naomi. Again, the women of the village came to her home and said that woman Ruth she's better than seven sons to you. Ruth and Boaz had a son and they named him old bad.

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Oh, bad spent a lot of time on grandma Naomi's lap. When a bed was grown, he married and gave Boaz and Ruth a grandson Jesse. And when Jesse grew up, he gave Boaz and Ruth seven great grandsons. You may recognize the name of that last great grand son, David, perhaps Israel's greatest King, but there is something better still in our story, in the new Testament book of Matthew Boaz in Ruth two people who did what was RIGHT are listed in the family tree of Jesus, their faithfulness individually and together we'll look even more beautiful and rare when we returned to the story of judges in our next wordpicture.