Line of Christ - Week 3

10.15.07

From Jericho to Judges

Last week we left off with the walls of Jericho crumbling to pieces around the feet of the Israelites as they finally entered the Promised Land.  As they took over the land, it was divided up between the 12 tribes, as well as a portion for the Levites.  Eventually as Joshua neared old age, he renewed God's covenant with his people.  During his lifetime and the remainder of that generation, Israel faithfully served the Lord.   (Joshua 12 - 24). 

Soon after though (you knew this was coming, right?) God's people forgot what he had done for them and they began to worship other gods and do all kinds of stuff that just really gets God's goat (er, makes him unhappy).  So God began to raise up judges to rule over the people.  Usually during the lifetime of a judge, there would be a right relationship between God and his people and his protection would be over them.  However, once the judge died, things would run amok and the whole business would start over again.  Judges 2 gives an excellent summation of this time.  (If you don't usually click the scripture links, click this one - it's quite helpful.) 

The first verse of Ruth chapter 1 states that it was during the time of the judges.  Unfortunately, we're not given any more information than that, so we're unable to determine during which judge's lifetime it takes place.  However, it's not crucial to the story, so we won't dwell on it.  Instead, we'll spend some time familiarizing ourselves with what the time of judges was like. 

In the days when Judges ruled...

There is no doubt in my mind that when you hear the word "judge" an image of an elderly man in a black robe with a gavel in one hand and the scales of justice in the other comes to mind.  However in this instance, this image couldn't be more off target.  Rather than judiciary law makers, these men (and one woman!) were more like military leaders in guerrilla warfare.  That's right, you read that correctly!  At this time in history, Israel was getting quite big and didn't have any form of government.  They were frequently attacked by neighboring regions and forced to defend their Promised Land.  However, don't be so quick as to jump to the conclusion that their neighbors were simply greedy jerks - it's not so.  As a nation Israel was constantly guilty of adulterating herself to other gods and religions.  As a result of disobeying God, they would be attacked.  Naturally in their suffering, they would cry out to God and he would answer their call by raising up a judge.  This judge would keep them walking in his ways and usually some measure of peace (or at least rightness with God) would ensue during the judges lifetime.  However, it seems that Israel was not very good at passing on their faith to their children, because not long after the death of the judge, Israel would be in trouble again.  

As you read through Judges, it may seem as though each judge ruled back to back, however this isn't the case.  Based on dates known both before and after the time of judges, scholars have determined that the judges' rules overlapped.  It seems as though a judge may have only ruled over a portion of Israel and not necessarily the entire thing.  So as I'm sure you can imagine, this was kind of a roller coaster period in Israel's history.  Things may have felt chaotic, with no clear leadership.  As of yet, Israel hadn't a formal government of it's own.  As the end of the book of Judges states: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."  No wonder God's people had trouble keeping their act together - there was no accountability.  It was a time of moral chaos. 

More Than a Name

What I like about the book of Ruth is that it is one of the few places in the bible that focuses on a woman's story - and not only that, but the true character of the woman.  As demonstrated with the two previous studies, often scripture mentions individuals and their significance in history, but it's not too often we get to delve into that person's character.  But the story of Ruth is an exception to the rule.  In fact, we get more than a blurb, but four whole chapters to learn who this woman is and what made her special in the Lord's eyes.   How cool!

I also like this story because it's not only a story about an extraordinary woman, but it's also a story about the friendship between women.  And in fact, you may be interested to know that's what Ruth's name means: friendship, a female friend, or every woman of her neighbor.  Isn't that incredible?  Ruth is absolutely the fulfillment of her own name! 

 I thought it might be interesting to know what the names of the other individuals we meet in this book, so I will be sure to include them as we go along.  So far we have Naomi, meaning pleasant, Elimelech (Naomi's husband) which meansmy God is king, as well as Naomi's two sons, Mahlon and Kilion which mean sickly and pining or wasting away, respectively.  As we learn more about their character and circumstances, we'll have to keep their meanings in mind. 

A Little Geography Lesson

From Ruth 1:1,2 there is quite a bit of geographical information and without some clarification, it can be confusing.  Let's start first with Judah; I bet you're thinking - wasn't that one of Jacob's sons?  Why yes!  That is correct.  When the Israelites first came into the Promised Land, it was divvied up between the 12 tribes of Israel and each tribe was given it's portion.  That portion of land, or region was named for the tribe than inhabited there.  Think of it this way: it's as if the Promised Land was a country (Israel) and each tribe's region is a state (Judah, etc).  And naturally, within each "state" there are cities (Bethlehem, Jerusalem).  So when we read in Ruth that a man and his wife were from Bethlehem in Judah that would be like one of us saying we are from Bellingham, Washington.  Now as it turns out, these folks moved to Moab - this was a neighboring country that was quite frequently at war with Israel.  Moab was only about 40 miles away as the crow flies, unfortunately there was a sea in the way, not to mention about 4,000 ft of ascent and decent to climb.  

Click here to see a map of the land allocated to the 12 tribes.  Notice that Bethlehem is in Judah, not far from the Moab boarder.  (Look at the map on the left - the map on the right is a comparison to later times...but we're not there yet). 

One last note about location; in verse 2 Naomi and her husband and sons are referred to as "Ephrathites".  If you're like me, this was confusing considering they are from the tribe of Judah and live in Bethlehem.  But don't fret, my friend, Bethlehem used to be called Ephrath, thus they were Ephrathites. 

Death in the Family

As we continue reading through the first chapter of Ruth in verses 3-7 we see that this particular family has not seen the end of it's hard times.  Not only are they living in the midst of a time of moral chaos among their people, but there is famine in the land (which was usually interpreted by God's people as his judgment or disapproval) which prompts them to seek refuge in a neighboring (and generally unfriendly) country.  As if this situation were not enough for one family to bear, Elimelech (Naomi's husband) dies.   The two sons, Mahlon and Kilion both marry Moabite women (a big no-no for the Jews) and both die within 10 years.  Yikes!  Naomi is now left with no husband, no children and two daughters-in-law she can't support.  Double yikes!  The book of Ruth certainly opens during some rough times.  As most people do in times of grief and trial, Naomi decides to head back home to Bethlehem.

Where You Go, I Will Go...

In verses 8-18 as the women begin the journey back to Bethlehem, Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to remain in Moab as there will be no opportunity for Naomi to provide any other sons for them to marry (again referring to the same law in Deuteronomy 25 that got Judah in trouble with Tamar).  Orpah heeds her mother-in-laws advice, but Ruth does not.  In one of the most beautiful speeches in the bible, Ruth pledges to stick by Naomi's side, no matter what.  "Where you go, I will go...where you die, I will die."  

For all practical purposes, it's illogical that Ruth decides to stick with  Naomi; it certainly doesn't seem advantageous.  Naomi is right when she says Ruth is better off staying in Moab to find another husband.  Naomi has no other sons for Ruth to marry and even if she were to produce one immediately, it's not very practical for Ruth to wait around for him to grow up.  Additionally, Ruth will be a foreigner in Judah and not likely welcomed at every open door (nor will she be a "top candidate" for a spouse...) especially since Israel and Moab were often enemies fighting over land. 

Scripture does not explicitly say why Ruth is so committed to staying with Naomi, but I think it's safe to assume a solid relationship between the two women has been formed.  One strong enough that Ruth was unwilling to break it.  As was common with tradition then, perhaps Ruth married Naomi's son as a young woman, maybe 14 or 15, and grew to see her mother-in-law as a mentor and companion.  Despite marrying so young, those are still the formative years of a young woman's life and perhaps Ruth saw Naomi as a mother figure.  It's only a semi-educated guess, but in any case, it IS clear that Ruth is committed to sticking with Naomi.  If these two women were somehow not very closely bonded, you can almost guarantee they would be after their journey from Moab to Bethlehem.  As mentioned previously, they had about 4,000 feet of elevation to navigate before they made it to the valley floor and had to travel around the Dead Sea before they got to Bethlehem. 

The last thing I would like to note about this portion of the text is subtle, but I think quite important.  If you reread Ruth's speech to Naomi, you'll notice that she says "May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely if anything but death separates you and me," and thus refers to the Lord directly, a passive acknowledgment that the god she is referring to is her God.  Often in the Old Testament when other nations, cultures or kings refer to the Almighty they specify that it is "the Hebrew's God", or "the God of your people" or "your God" (see Daniel 3:28 as an example), ....but Ruth doesn't do that here.  In the previous verse, she says, "...your God will be my God..." and then immediately afterward she refers to God as we do; as we would expect a believer to do.  The absence of a pronoun indicating Naomi's God implies that Ruth considered the Lord to be her God.  Her statement from the previous verse takes immediate effect (if it had not been already). 

Bitter: Party of One

In the last portion of chapter one (v 19-22) the two women complete their trek home and the town is surprised at their arrival.  Naomi pretty much immediately begins to share her many troubles, going so far as to tell people her name is now Mara (which means bitter) as the Lord's hand has been against her and her life is now bitter.  While there is certainly truth to her statements (she has experienced quite a bit of misfortune and by allowing her sons to marry Moabite women, the Lord's hand very well may have been against the family - see Deut?:??) Naomi also seems to be having a bit of a pity party on her own behalf.  She is so unsatisfied with her situation that she wants to change her name to bitter - that's pretty desperate.  Usually when someone's name is changed in scripture, is the Lord who is doing the changing (e.g. Abraham, Sarah, Jacob).  Additionally, the new name usually sticks, but as we see in the last verse of the chapter, she is still being referred to as Naomi, indicating that perhaps her bitterness reflected her own unwillingness to accept her situation.  Aren't we supposed to praise him in the good as well as the bad??