Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Bad Ole Moabites and Wrestling with Scripture
James Sledge November
8, 2015
The
Old Testament book of Deuteronomy shows Moses reminding Israel, just prior to
their entering the land of promise, of all the covenantal requirements and
obligations of the Law. Moses will not enter the land with them, and this is
his final act before handing leadership of Israel over to Joshua. Here is part
of what he says. “No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none
of their descendants shall be admitted…”
Now
if you’re worried that I’ve gotten confused about the scripture readings for
today, let me assure you that this has everything to do with Ruth. But to make
that clear, we probably need to go back to the beginning of her and Naomi’s story.
As
the story opens, there is a famine in Israel causing Naomi, her husband, and
two sons to flee their homeland. They become refugees, not so different from Syrian
refugees in our day. They are in danger and at the mercy of those they
encounter. And in the case of Naomi’s family, they end up in the land of those
bad ole Moabites Moses warned them about.
The
story doesn’t share any details of what happen when Naomi’s clan arrives in
Moab. But clearly they are allowed to settle there. They are able to make a
life, and when her husband dies, Naomi’s family is sufficiently a part of the
community that her sons are welcomed to marry two of the local girls, Orpah and
Ruth.
But
then the situation changes dramatically. Naomi’s two sons die. I’m not sure we
modern people can fully appreciate what a dire situation this is. As a widow
without male children, Naomi was in grave jeopardy. She was too old to be
married again, and she had no one to provide for her. As a woman, she could not
inherit or own property. With no husband, no sons, and no grandsons, her
husband’s lineage was at an end, and she was powerless and destitute.
Then
Naomi learns that the famine in Israel has abated. This does not offer much
hope, but it is all she has. She heads back hoping some relatives or friends will
take pity on her. She may still be destitute, but it seems the best chance she
has. And so she starts out for home, her daughters-in-law accompanying her. But
Naomi knows this is not a good idea.
Naomi
has no way to provide for herself, much less for Orpah and Ruth. They are still
relatively young. If they return to their own families, perhaps they will care
for them, even find new husbands for them. Orpah and Ruth protest. They want to
remain with Naomi. But she insists, and finally Orpah relents and leaves,
weeping as she goes.
But
Ruth will not leave. She casts her lot with Naomi, and they return to the land
of Judah and to poverty. Ruth is now the refugee, dependent on the hospitality
of strangers. She tries to help Naomi by gleaning, picking up the grain that gets
dropped during the harvest.
The
story of Ruth is one of several in the Old Testament where God’s name is
mentioned and invoked but God does not seem to be an actor in the story. Which
is not to say that God is not at work. Ruth goes to glean in the fields and by
“chance,” ends up in the field of Boaz, a relative of her long dead
father-in-law.
Boaz
does not recognize this refugee gleaning in his field, and so he asks who she
is. No one seems to know her name. She’s just a refugee, after all. They tell
him, She
is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. I’m
not sure why they need to say she’s a Moabite from Moab. That’s like saying,
“I’m an American from America.” But it does make perfectly clear that she is
one of those bad ole Moabites.
When Naomi and her family fled to Moab,
their survival depended largely on whether they encountered hostility or
hospitality there. Now Naomi and Ruth’s survival depend largely on whether Ruth
encounters hostility or hospitality from the people of Judah, and especially
from Boaz. God’s providence has steered Ruth to the field belonging to a
relative of Naomi’s husband, but we know nothing of him or what he thinks about
hungry refugees or bad ole Moabites. At least we don’t until he gives his
workers special instructions to look after Ruth, praises her for her care of
Naomi, and gives her food and drink.