A Brief Study of Biblical Character Ruth

Brian Yeager's Outlines

A Brief Study of Ruth

The Book of Ruth:

Dating: 1350 – 1050 BC How do we know this? It was written in the time of the Judges.

Ruth 1:1 "Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons."

Penman: Many believe it was Samuel – Although God is the author of all the Bible (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Ruth’s Background:

A Moabite - Ruth 1:4 "And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years."

Moabite’s were not God’s people: Deuteronomy 23:3"An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:" Thus, she was a Gentile) How could a Gentile possibly be justified? James 2:25 "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?" Ruth as well was a faithful woman and will be and was justified by her faith. Judaism was not only a race, but a faith in Jehovah God! Ruth was not, by bloodline, a Jew. However, she was the wife of a Jew (Ruth 1:1-5). Boaz, by the same Law that said not to marry a Moabite, bought the rights of next of kin (Deuteronomy 25:5; cf. Ruth 2:1; 4:1-10). When you read the Book of Ruth, you find that she was a proselyte [a convert] (Ruth 1:16). The Old Law said: "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness" (Isaiah 1:27). Had she been a man, there'd be issue with the bloodline. Since she is a woman, there is no such issue. The lineage was not passed down through women, but of men. David was a descendent of Boaz. When you look at the genealogies, it was not the seed of a woman that was passed down (i.e. Numbers 1-3).

Hebrews 11:31 "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace."

The Jew’s were God’s people:
KJV Deuteronomy 7:3-8
3. Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
5. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
6. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

I. The Significance of a Gentile in the bloodline to Christ

Ruth was David’s Great-Grandmother-thus through marriage enter the bloodline to Christ

KJV Matthew 1:5-6

5. And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6.And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

With approval even of the people
KJV Ruth 4:12-15
12. And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.
13. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.
14. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
15. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.

II. Ruth’s Love for her mother in-law

KJV Ruth 1:10-17
10. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
11. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12. Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
13. Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
14. And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15. And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
16. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

She respected her mother in-law and that caught Boaz’s attention and caused him to favor her (and as we already read lead to her marriage with Boaz)
KJV Ruth 2:11-16
11. And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
12. The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
13. Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
14. And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
15. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:
16. And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

III. Lesson’s to Learn from Ruth

Honor mother and father
KJV Matthew 19:19
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Justify yourself with Good works and faith
KJV James 2:26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Realize that the door is not shut on anyone until the day of which they die
KJV Hebrews 8:11
And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

Let others respect our faith in God as did Ruth in Naomi
KJV Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Conclusion:

Ruth shows us the significance of a Gentile in the bloodline leading to Christ. Yet, while in faith she became a believer of God, instead of the God’s the Moabites had. We must have faith that maybe through contact we can affect folks who have a faith in another God. That they could follow our example, find the truth, and link to a great outcome in the times to come for the Church.

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