RUTH LESSON 1
The book of Ruth is set during the time of the judges. This is a
book of the history of Israel. This is one of the two books in the
Bible where a woman is the main character. Most people believe that
Samuel penned the book of Ruth. Again, the penman is not important.
God is the author. In this story, we see that Jesus is descended from
the Jew and the Gentile, because Ruth is a Moabite woman. The teaching
in Ruth is the near-kinsman redeemer. This book begins with a famine
in the land. This famine seemed to be extremely widespread. God had
forbidden the Hebrews to intermarry with the Moabites.
Many believe the book of Ruth to be the most beautiful love story
in the Bible. Some of the quotes from this book are used in marriages.
The favorite quotation, however is not stated to a man by a woman. It
is Ruth speaking to Naomi. Ruth 1:16 "And Ruth said, Entreat 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:"
The near-kinsman redeemer law is found in Deuteronomy 25:5 "If
brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the
wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her
husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife,
and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her." There is much
more to it than this one verse, but you get the idea.
It is strange, to me, that Boaz's mother was Rahab, the harlot,
from Jericho {Gentile} that befriended Israel. Ruth was a Moabite
which was a Gentile. Ruth and Boaz are in the lineage of Jesus. It is
interesting, to me, that these two Gentiles by birth were ancestors of
Jesus. Their son was Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David.
We will now begin the verse by verse study of this most
interesting book with 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 Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he,
and his wife, and his two sons."
We see from this, that they lived in Bethlehem, and a great
famine came. To save their lives, they went to Moab where there was
food. We know that God's plan was for them to come to Moab.
Ruth 1:2 "And the name of the man [was] Elimelech, and the name
of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion,
Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of
Moab, and continued there."
"Elimelech" means to whom God is king. "Naomi" means pleasant.
"Mahlon" means pining. "Chilion" means wasting away. They were of the
tribe of Ephraim, but living in Bethlehem in the middle of Judah.
Ruth 1:3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left,
and her two sons.
Naomi's husband, possibly, died early, because he was homesick.
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."
Some of the great historians think that Elimelech had made the
arrangements for the two sons to marry these Moabite women. We must
remember, God had forbidden these marriages. These ten years could
have been altogether, or it could have been after the two sons married
the two Moabite women. We are not told. "Orpah" means forelock.
"Ruth" means a friend.
Ruth 1:5 "And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the
woman was left of her two sons and her husband."
It seems that, there were no children in either of these
families. My own personal belief is that, God took these two men
because they married Moabite women, which He had forbidden. This
leaves Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah.
Ruth 1:6 "Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she
might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the
country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving
them bread."
Naomi has heard that the famine in Israel is over. Her home, like
her husband's, was in Israel. Now that her husband and her son are
dead, she wants to go home. The word translated daughters-in law here,
is literally, her brides. This is actually speaking of the brides of
her sons.
Ruth 1:7 "Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she
was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way
to return unto the land of Judah."
It seems at this point that, her daughters-in-law were with her.
Ruth 1:8 "And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go,
return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as
ye have dealt with the dead, and with me."
It seems as if, Orpah and Ruth had been really good to Naomi. The
love they had for her sons seemed to be passed to Naomi, when the boys
died. They seemed to have a good relationship with their mother-in-
law.
Ruth 1:9 "The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each [of you]
in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up
their voice, and wept."
She knew the girls were still young, and they would marry again.
She spoke a blessing on them both in their new life. She, in fact,
spoke a blessing on their next marriage, as well.
Ruth 1:10 "And they said unto her, Surely we will return with
thee unto thy people."
They loved Naomi, and were willing to go with her back to Israel
and her people.
Ruth 1:11 "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?"
Had there been any other sons of Naomi, the daughters-in-law
could have claimed them for marriage, to keep the name of the dead
husband alive. The first child of such a marriage would bear the name
of the deceased. The truth is, there are no other sons. Naomi is old,
and there probably will be no more sons.
Ruth 1:12 "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;" Ruth 1:13
"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."
Even if Naomi were married and were to conceive that very night,
Oprah and Ruth would be old women before the sons would be old enough
to marry. Naomi is feeling sorry for herself. She says that, the LORD
is gone out against her. She cannot see that the plan of God could
still be working to help her.
Ruth 1:14 "And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and
Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her."
Orpah loves Naomi and does not want to leave, but she knows that
what Naomi says is true. She wants to remarry, and she kisses Naomi,
and leaves to go back to her home. Ruth refuses to leave, and clings
even harder to Naomi.
Ruth 1:15 "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."
It is not said, here, who the god of Orpah is. We do know that
Ruth loves the One True God. Naomi is doing everything she can to
discourage Ruth from staying. She wants Ruth to be happy. It appears
that, Naomi loves Ruth as she would her own daughter, if she had one.
Ruth 1:16 "And Ruth said, Entreat 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:" Ruth 1:17 "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."
Ruth had set her mind on going with Naomi, and nothing Naomi
could say would discourage her. This is one of the dearest things
anyone could say to another. Many ministers have the bride and groom
at a wedding repeat these verses above to each other. Perhaps, Ruth
had learned to love God through the teachings of Naomi, since she
speaks of God as Naomi's God. This is absolute dedication by Ruth for
her mother-in-law. Ruth makes the strongest statement of all, when she
says that she wants to be buried where Naomi is buried. She seals her
statement by making God a witness of her statement. Nothing but death,
itself shall part Ruth and Naomi.
Ruth 1:18 "When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with
her, then she left speaking unto her."
Naomi has finally realized, that nothing she can say will change
Ruth's mind.
Ruth 1:19 "So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And
it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city
was moved about them, and they said, [Is] this Naomi?"
We must remember that, Naomi had been gone a very long time; at
least ten years. Even though she had had so much sorrow and hardship,
they still recognized Naomi. "Bethlehem" means house of bread. This
had been the hometown that Naomi, her husband, and two sons had left
from during the famine.
Ruth 1:20 "And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me
Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me."
"Mara" means bitter. It seems that, Naomi had a tendency to look
at the negative. There were some positive things that had happened to
her. Ruth loved her greatly. She felt that God had dealt harshly with
her. Sometimes, we need to look at home for the reason. God chastens
those He loves. Perhaps, some of the problems came, because of their
disobedience to God.
Ruth 1:21 "I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home
again empty: why [then] call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath
testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?"
Truly, she did have a husband and two sons with her when she went
out, but she certainly did not come back empty. She had Ruth. She does
not have material things, but is blessed to have the great unselfish
love of Ruth.
Ruth 1:22 "So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her
daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab:
and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest."
The barley harvest was the earliest of the harvest. It was,
generally, around March when the barley was harvested. It, also, was
the least expensive of the grain.
Ruth 1 Questions
1. What period of time is the book of Ruth set in?
2. This is one of the two books in the Bible where a __________ is
the main character.
3. Who do many believe penned the book of Ruth?
4. In the story, we see that Jesus was descended from both _____ and
__________.
5. Ruth is a __________ woman.
6. The teaching in Ruth is the _________ ___________ ___________.
7. God had forbidden the Hebrews to __________ with the Moabites.
8. Many believe the book of Ruth to be the most beautiful _______
story in the Bible.
9. Quote Ruth chapter 1 verse 16.
10. Where is the law of the near-kinsman redeemer found?
11. Who was Boaz's mother?
12. Who was the son of Ruth and Boaz?
13. Who was his son?
14. Obed was the father of ________.
15. Jesse was the father of ________.
16. During the time of verse 1, there was a _________ in the land.
17. Where did Naomi live at that time?
18. Who was her husband?
19. How many sons did she have?
20. What does "Elimelech" mean?
21. What does "Naomi" mean?
22. What happened to Elimelech?
23. Who were the brides of Naomi's sons?
24. How many years did they dwell with them?
25. What does "Orpah" mean?
26. What does "Ruth" mean?
27. What were the names of the sons of Naomi that died?
28. After the sons died, what did Naomi decide to do?
29. What did Naomi release her daughters-in-law to do?
30. What was the relationship between Naomi and the two girls?
31. What did Naomi do as a gesture of her love for these girls?
32. What good reason did Naomi give the girls for them going home and
seeking husbands there?
33. Who did Naomi say had gone out against her?
34. Which of the girls took Naomi's advice, and went to her home?
35. What does the other do?
36. What answer does Ruth give Naomi in verses 16 and 17?
37. When is this very thing said between a man and a woman?
38. What does "Bethlehem" mean?
39. What is Naomi's name changed to?
40. What does this name mean?
41. God chastens those he ________.
42. Who does Naomi blame for her problems?
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