October 31, 2021 Sermon
Sermon title: "The Story of Ruth"
Scripture: Ruth 1: 1-18
((Other lectionary suggestions include Psalm 146: 1-10,
Hebrews 9: 11-14, and Mark 12: 28-34.))
Ruth 1:1-18
Israel’s Failure to Complete the Conquest of Canaan
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband." Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. 10 They said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, 13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me." 14 Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!" 18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Why do you think the story of Ruth was written? Because she ends up being David's great-grandmother! Why is that important? Because she Ruth is from Moab. That means she is not an Israelite! So one reason the story of Ruth is told is perhaps to give some leeway to a more liberal or progressive view of people in general. We know that by the time of Jesus, who lived almost a thousand years after David, the society had really stratified, and if you weren't of such and such ancestral line, you were really not worth very much!
Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's forget about the time of Jesus and look to when the book of Ruth was written. Perhaps it was written as late as 400 B.C. And perhaps it was written to counteract the ideas in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which urged Israelites to repudiate any marriages between Jews and foreign women. A little history first: As you may remember, in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. He also took some Israelite leaders back to Babylon with him, leaders he considered as ringleaders of the rebellion that brought Nebuchadnezzar's troops into Jerusalem in the first place. This time in Jewish history is known as the Babylonian Captivity. After about 50 years or so, another power rose up and that was Persia, led by King Cyrus. Cyrus was unbelievably gracious in that he allowed captive peoples to go home, and this included the Israelites who were languishing in Babylon. So when the Israelites were able to return to Palestine, they began to rebuild the Temple, and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about these re-building activities.
Unfortunately, they also tell us about the rather restrictive practices that Ezra and Nehemiah brought about.....and one of those practices was urging Jewish men NOT to marry anyone NON-Jewish. It just could be that the book of Ruth was written in this time to say, "Wait a minute! Our great King David had a Moabite i.e., NON-JEWISH! great-grandmother!"
Isn't the Bible great? There is definitely more than one point of view expressed! If you remember the sermon on Job of a few weeks ago, you may recall that one reason that book was written was to take an alternate view of the conviction that if you serve the Lord you will prosper, and if you don't, you won't! The book of Job was saying, "Hey, wait a minute! Here is an honorable man Job who is SUFFERING. Here is a man serving the Lord and what is happening to him SHOULD NOT be happening to him!" Perhaps a similar thing is happening in the book of Ruth. We are being told by Ezra and Nehemiah NOT to marry non-Jews, but looky here: our great King David's great-grandmother was a non-Jew!
Sometime sit down and read the book of Ruth. It's only four chapters, and the character of Naomi is almost as important as Ruth. Some Bible stories have sad endings, but this one has a happy ending! Also, there is some humor in this little book! For example, I hope you noticed that the names of the two sons of Elimelech are Mahlon and Chilion. As you have heard me say before, names in the Old Testament MEAN something. That's true here as well. Mahlon means "illness" in Hebrew, and Chilion means "to come to an end". So the original readers of this story cannot be surprised by the fact that both men DIE!
Another point, and a serious one: Ruth's declaration to go with Naomi is FOREVER, not until death parts them. And by such a declaration, she is cutting all ties with Moab forever. I don't know how important that is for the story, but it does show us Ruth's total commitment to her new people and to her new God. This is an old testament book, and there is nothing about the coming of Christ in it. And yet, says commentator Graeme Auld, "this makes her pledge eminently suitable as a vow of Christian pilgrimage to a master from whom we shall not be separated even in death to a master who calls us to leave family in his service."
Could the book of Ruth have been written for OTHER reasons? I personally like what I have already said: that it's a pitch for more inclusiveness, for a welcoming of even NON-Jewish people into the family. But it could have been written for a more sinister purpose. Look at what King David did: he was ruthless and took other women he wanted to his bed. You know that when he got Bathsheba pregnant, she was already married to Uriah the Hittite whom David put on the front lines in hopes that he would be killed and he WAS! Maybe the book of Ruth was written to say, "What do you expect from a guy who had MOABITE blood in his veins?"
So this little book could have been written for many different reasons. I mentioned the commentator Graeme Auld; here is what he says: "We may never be certain whether the Book of Ruth was intended to serve a wider political purpose; but it certainly entertains, and is a touching tribute to an attractive social mechanism for overcoming widowhood and alienation. It sees God's blessing in loyal and gracious attention to proven customs.And that may be enough said!"
Amen.
Pastor Skip
