OUR TREATMENT OF WOMEN- Lessons from the Book of Ruth

[alon]

This is from a Men's Ministry class I taught before I left the Assembly Church. I was Hebrew Roots at the time, so it's not too awful deep. But when I bumped the Par'shah reading this week, I noticed there was some disagreement on this (centered more around women's role in the synagogue), and thought I'd just dig this up. It's more a model of home life and responsibility for men, but there are some definite lessons here that cross over.

OUR TREATMENT OF WOMEN- Lessons from the Book of Ruth

The central theme of the book of Ruth is movement from emptiness to fulfillment, expressed in four parts and simultaneously in two planes. The planes are agricultural and personal. The agricultural plane is always one step ahead of the personal- famine then Naomi’s bereavement, the renewed harvest then Naomi’s abundance with the birth of Obed. We are witness to the providence of God in the lives of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz as the story unfolds in four acts:
• Ch. 1 Tears
• Ch. 2 Toil
• Ch. 3 Trust
• Ch. 4 Triumph

As a picture of the grace of God, Naomi, at first bitter, goes on to blessedness. Rut goes from loneliness to love. However the relationship of Rut and Naomi is also a picture of “chesed’- love, loyalty and commitment that go far beyond the requirements of law or duty. It embodies grace, benevolence, and compassion. Chesed is exemplified in the strong bonds between Rut and Naomi; the fidelity of Rut to Naomi and the deep concern of Naomi for Rut. It is also later shown by Boaz’ care and kindness to both women. Chesed is the relationship we are called to in our marriages.

These are the elements of the story we’ll look at closely as our picture of marriage and how we should look upon and treat women as we court them and in marriage.
Cast of Main Characters:
• Elimelich- “My God Is King”
• Mahlon- “Sickness”
• Chilion- “Consumptive”
• Orpah- “Back of the Neck”
• Rut- “Friend,” or “Companion”
• Naomi- “Pleasant”
• Boaz- “In Him is Strength”

Act ONE: Tears

The name Beit'lechem means house of bread, so the story starts with a pun- there was famine in the house of bread. It was a sin, however Naomi’s husband led her to Moab to escape the famine. We must be careful where we lead our families. The sons also sinned when they married Moabite women. As we lead our wives, so we lead our children to good or evil.

 
Ruth 1:4 (ESV) These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years,

In the ten years they were there, apparently neither couple was blessed with children. God does not bless us in our sins. Furthermore, Naomi lost her husband and both sons, and she yearned for home. Judaism teaches that Rut was converted when she stayed with Naomi, however it is likely that both women were converted when they married Jewish men. It is the man’s responsibility to be the spiritual leader in the home. Further evidence is that even though their husbands had died, both Rut and Orpah started the return journey to Bet'lechem with Naomi;

Ruth 1:8-15 (ESV) But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.  The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.  And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”  But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?  Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,  would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”  Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”

Naomi again sinned, because she became bitter, not trusting God. She encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their old homes, their old ways and the gods they once worshiped. We never know how far our sins will reach, especially as we lead our families spiritually. She was showing loving tenderness to them, to be sure. Naomi knew the hardships they would face in going back to Beit'lechem with her. Often the wisdom we show in moments of weakness is not God’s wisdom, as even then He was preparing to bless Naomi on her return.

Orpah leaves Naomi and returns to her Moabite family. She fell away from her faith, and returned to her old gods. However:

Ruth 1:14-22 (ESV)  Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.  And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”  But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”  And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”  She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara,[bitter] for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.  I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

[alon]

Act TWO: Toil

The poor were permitted to glean behind the reapers as part of God’s plan that all would be provided for. This was hard work, and typically provided just enough for sustenance. When Rut tells Naomi of her plans to glean for their food, Naomi says "Go, my daughter." Her calling Ruth “daughter” indicates a strengthening of the familial bonds between the two women. Rut’s devotion and sacrifice are the keys here, just as our own devotion and sacrifice are the keys to strengthening our own families.

By divine providence, Ruth goes to the field of the second of the two kinsmen in Bethlehem who could “redeem” her and take both her and Naomi out of poverty. The “kinsman redeemer” ( Heb “ga’al” or “goh’el”- "goel") is a very important type of the Messiah in Jewish culture and law. Just as several hundred years later Yeshua would pay the price outside the city gates of Yerushalayim for our sins and thereby redeem us (Col. 1:14), Boaz paid the price to redeem Naomi and Rut outside the city gates at Bethlehem. Both acted of their own free will.

 
As with the kinsman-redeemer Boaz, Yeshua fulfilled all the qualifications of the goel. First, the goel had to be a kinsman, and so Yeshua came as a man. Second he had to be able to redeem, as God’s only Son, sinless and meeting all the over 300 prophetic requirements for the Messiah. Third, he had to be willing, and of Yeshua it was written in Psalms 40:8, “Doing your will, my God, is my joy; your is in my inmost being.” Lastly, he would be required to assume all the obligations of those he redeemed. Just as Boaz assumed responsibility for Naomi and Rut, Yeshua HaMoshiach assumed all the responsibility of making full restitution for our sin. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Isaiah 40:2 (ESV)  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare [troubles] is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

“Double” does not mean twice as much. If one had excessive debt, a list of indebtedness was posted on the city gate, so no one would do business with that person. Often a benefactor would want to remove the associated and make full restitution, and then the elders at the gate would take the list and fold it in half, doubling it. Their “iniquity” was pardoned.

The kinsman-redeemer had three major responsibilities:
• To redeem any land and return it to the original owner. (Lev 25:23-28)
• To redeem a kinsman from bondage to a foreigner. (Lev25:47-49)
• To avenge the death of a slain kinsman as a point of honor. (Num 37:12,19,21; Deu19:6,12)

The same word translated kinsman redeemer (goel) is translated avenger of blood (Strongs 1350), depending on the context. It was the responsibility of the closest relative as the avenger of blood to avenge the death of a kinsman. This is part of Yeshua’s responsibility as our kinsman redeemer. It is the only responsibility He has yet to fulfill. It illustrates the fierce protectivness Yeshua feels for his own.

It is important to keep this prophetic relationship in mind as we return to our story. We left Rut gleaning in the fields of Boaz who, apparently unbeknownst to her was a kinsman able to redeem her. At this time she was simply trusting in the God she’d come to know who was protective of widows and the poor (Ex 22:22, Deu 10:18). As she trusted in Him, God began to work on her behalf (Prov 3:5&6). So as we trust in God, He will provide for us the right life’s partner for a wife.

Her faithfulness and hard work was not missed by Boaz:

Ruth 2:5-11 (ESV) Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”  And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.  She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.  Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”  Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”  But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

He knew her character before he showed serious interest in her. Even before they had a relationship, Boaz began to protect and provide for Rut and her family, which was Naomi. Bo'az tells Ruth in vs. 8 “Don't go to glean in another field, don't leave this place, but stick here with my working girls. 9 Keep your eyes on whichever field the reapers are working in, and follow the girls. I've ordered the young men not to bother you. Whenever you get thirsty, go and drink from the water jars the young men have filled."

Ruth 2:14-16 (ESV) And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.  When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.  And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

When Naomi learned of the good favor and who had shown it to Ruth, she said:

Ruth 2:20b,c (ESV)  “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”

Naomi now recognizes the true source of this favor as divine, and she gives credit to God. When we base our search for a mate on the will of God instead of sexual attraction, we are truly blessed. Before Rut even knew who Boaz was, he took note and protected her, providing for her and her family. She became a friend of “The Lord of the Harvest” (Mat 9:38). This is a picture of what Yeshua, whose bride we are, does for us.

Even as he began the “courtship” of Ruth, Boaz illustrates how we are to treat women, especially our wives or those we see as a potential wife. We are to honor and respect them. Our chief task is to protect and provide for them. This is what we as men are called by God to do. We are called to be like the God of Psalm 91:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—

10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

[alon]

Act THREE: Trust

Rut now takes the initiative and, as advised by Naomi lays at the feet of Boaz. This was an act of submission, a promise to honor and serve him. We are called to honor and serve our spouse, putting them before us as we submit to each other.

Ruth 3:7-9 (ESV) And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.  At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!  He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings [the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment] over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

She asks that he spread his robe (Heb “kanaf”) over her, because he is a “goel.” She is echoing his own words:

Ruth 2:12 (ESV) The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

This is in fact a marriage proposal. The imprint of a tzitzit from an officials garment on a tablet was the same as giving his name to a document or placing a person under his protection. Boaz’ willingness to cover her with the hem of his robe, which would have had tzitziot on the corners was the same as offering his name as husband, provider and protector.

Boaz reveals to Ruth that there is one other kinsman who would hold the stronger claim to be her redeemer. He also assures her he will settle the matter quickly. We should not allow our women-folk to worry too long, as they are insecure by nature. And in the case of Rut, her need of a redeemer was great.

V. 14 describes how Ruth lay at the feet of Boaz that night. Nothing untoward happened, and we should never take advantage or press the issue of sex prior to marriage. However she also left early in order to not give the appearance of wrongdoing. Likewise we are to protect the reputation of women.

In v. 15 Boaz gives her six measures of barley to take back for her and Ruth. This was an augury of the seed he would provide that their son might be born, as well as the six eventual blessings their seed would inherit (Is 11:2); “The Spirit of ADONAI will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fearing ADONAI.”

Act FOUR: Triumph

Boaz goes to the city gate, where he publically completes the transaction by which he gains the rights as Rut’s redeemer. The name of the person who had first claim as the kinsman redeemer is never given. This would be an insult to a Hebrew, and quite probably indicated the displeasure of God towards this man who did not fulfill his obligations in taking care of Rut and Naomi. We must take care that God does not remove our name for the same reason.

We now see the model of the covenant of Inheritance:

Ruth 4:7-16 (ESV) Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.  So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.  Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.  Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”  Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,  and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.” So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.  Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!  He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”  Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.

Verses 18-22 give a genealogy that shows a direct line from Perez, son of Tamar, though Obed son of Rut, forward to Melech Dovid. The book opens in Beit'lechem, home of Dovid, and ends with a genealogy of Dovid. It also points us forward to Yeshua HaMoshiac. This is an illustration of the importance of family continuity as well as roots. Here it is important to the cohesiveness of a nation and a people. It is also important to the divine development of God’s extended family, and it is very important in the development of every individual child. Family cohesion, history and unity are some of the most important things we can give to our wives and, by extension to our children. It is another layer of provision and protection, the security we are called on to provide.

Dan C