The Ripple Effect of "Ruth": A Brief Look at a Timeless, and Timely, Tale
The below is an excerpt from one of Diana’s novels (which she is currently editing), Orchid Unfading, and is a great example of what sharing kindness and love with others can do. Sometimes, we may not realize that a little encouragement, assurance, or even a simple smile can make someone’s day, and drastically improve their outlook on life. I hope it encourages and motivates you to follow in Ruth’s footsteps!
As a bit of context, the narrator is Poppy, an 84-year-old woman who serves as mentor and spiritual role model for the series’ three main characters. Throughout the four-book series, there are many chapters comprised of her diary entries, such as the one below.
“The devil only wins when we turn our backs on the beacons.” – Poppy McAdams
I’ve heard it said that the Book of Ruth is the best short story ever written. I must say I agree, although The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a close second.
In all seriousness, Ruth has all the makings of a first-rate story: universal themes, a strong plot with plenty of ups and downs, real characters you feel for and relate to, and no shortage of spiritual nuggets the reader would be wise to apply to her own life.
You (whoever the you may be who reads this one day) probably know Ruth’s story, as it’s always been a popular book to preach from; it’s only four chapters long, after all. But in case your memory’s a bit foggy (believe me, I can relate if it is), here’s a little synopsis for you, which I gave to Elise just this afternoon.
Everything in the story points back to Naomi. It was Naomi who moved from Judah to Moab with her family due to a terrible famine. It was she whose husband and two sons died, leaving her brokenhearted in a foreign land with two foreign daughters-in-law. It was her relative, a wealthy landowner named Boaz, who redeemed her by marrying Ruth. It was her God-given land that made this redemption possible.
I include that preamble to make the point that Ruth is the only book in the entire Bible viewed from a woman’s perspective. I believe one of the reasons for this is that it corroborates other scriptures which compare physical marriage relationships with the spiritual marriage between Christ, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride. Here’s one of my favorite such scriptures:
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." – Revelation 19:7
As I said above, Naomi was a Jewish woman who began calling herself Mara, a name which means “bitter” in Hebrew. And why wouldn’t she have? Her husband and sons were dead. Back then, to be a childless widow equaled an impoverished, lonely, invisible existence. You’d have no one to care for you. No money. No inheritance. And no hope of remarrying unless you were of marriageable, child-bearing age. Given Naomi had had two grown, married sons, it’s not likely she was particularly desirable.
Ruth was one of her daughters-in-law, a Moabitess who’d been born and raised in paganism. But through her connection to her husband, she came to know the one true God, and witnessed His faithfulness firsthand. Even after Naomi insisted that she and her sister-in-law return to their former families, Ruth clung to her, exclaiming the famous verse recited often at weddings, “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.”
Ruth followed Naomi to Bethlehem where she gleaned the barley fields after the reapers had done their work. It was while she was gleaning in Boaz’s field that she caught the landowner’s attention. Apparently, word had gotten out regarding her devotion to her mother-in-law, a virtue which made a strong impression on Boaz. He told Ruth to glean with his servants, which was the equivalent of giving her, a disenfranchised peasant, a major promotion! He even ordered his servants to spare extra sheaves for her. It is this report of Boaz’s benevolence that helps Naomi replace her bitterness with faith.
Her spirit infused with an exhilarating dose of hope, Naomi encouraged Ruth to lie down at the foot of Boaz’s bed while he was sleeping. (A little forward for my taste, but to each her own!) When he awoke, he promised that he would redeem her, according to the law, if the relative closest to her refused to. He filled her cloak with six measures of barley and set her on her way.
It was a “Happily Ever After” if ever there was one. Boaz redeemed Naomi’s property before the elders and proclaimed that Ruth the Moabitess would become his wife. Ruth gave birth to a baby boy named Obed, who, as it turns out, was King David’s grandfather. And happier still, Naomi became the boy’s nurse! No more bitterness for Naomi; she was a proud grandmother, abundantly blessed because she had Ruth, a daughter-in-law who was “better to [her] than seven sons.”
There is so much gold to be mined from Ruth’s 85 verses. From loyalty and humility, to God’s sovereignty, there are enough nuggets to keep you chipping away for weeks. The nugget we extracted today was all about the hesed of God.
Hesed, translated most often as “loving-kindness,” “kindness,” or “love,” is all about benevolence. It usually describes a kind act that is performed without obligation, as in Psalm 136, which reads: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” That word, “lovingkindness,” is hesed in Hebrew, and tells us that no matter how evil and corrupt the world becomes, God loves it just the same. People may turn their backs on Him, but His love endures forever.
What is so fantastic to me about hesed is that one act of it leads to another. Take Ruth as an example. Ruth gets the ball rolling by refusing to abandon her bereft mother-in-law. Then, Boaz goes above and beyond to show kindness to the widows by providing more food for them. Encouraged by his generosity, Naomi finds a way to help Ruth by telling her to present herself to Boaz.
Boaz, struck not only by Ruth’s loyalty but also her unwillingness to marry just any ol’ man, intercedes on the women’s behalf and marries Ruth. The community rallies around the new couple, exhibiting hesed by affirming the marriage. Hesed heals rocky Israelite-Moabite relations, at least in one small circle of people. Hesed is a light in a very dark hour of Israel’s history. A continuing chain of grace-filled hesed leads to the birth of King David, and ultimately, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The message is clear: Regardless of our lot in life, we can always live according to God’s precepts, and He will reward us for our faithfulness.
Love begets love. Kindness begets kindness. God bestows mercy to the merciful, and lifts up those who lift up others. Like Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, by choosing obedience, we please the Lord and open our hearts to blessing.
I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for Ruth and Naomi to extend hesed in the midst of their circumstances. For a while, in fact, Naomi didn’t, and instead wore her pain and self-pity as a heavy cloak around her shoulders. But all it took to remove it was Ruth’s unyielding devotion – her unbending desire to remain with her mother-in-law despite the bleak prospects before them.
We all need Ruths in our lives, kind souls to come alongside us when we’re at our lowest. They don’t have to offer anything. They don’t even have to say much. Just to be there, standing like a seawall in the face of a storm, is often more than enough. Their strength inspires us to keep moving when all we want to do is let the storm swallow us whole.
Naomi didn’t have to accept Ruth’s declaration of loyalty. She could have rejected her, could have crushed her spirit with disparaging words concerning her pagan roots and the burden her presence might be. She could have claimed she didn’t need anyone’s help or pity, least of all a widowed heathen from Moab. But Naomi humbly recognized that she needed Ruth. With gratitude, she accepted Ruth’s companionship, and so let loving-kindness have its way.
That is my prayer for you day: Lord, let your loving-kindness have its way in my dear friend’s heart. Remove any callousness, any pride, and any oppression from the evil one.
Each of us is promised storms ahead, if they’re not already upon you now. The good news is, God has appointed His children, your brothers and sisters in Christ, to be a Ruth to you. Let them bless you with hesed, even when everything in you yearns to resist them.
The devil only wins when we turn our backs on the beacons.