Ruth – A Story of Redemption
Stories of the Promise is a midweek Advent worship series by Pastor Marques and Corissa Nelson. It has been adapted by Pastor Michael Zarling to be used for personal devotions or for an Advent Tea.
The series focuses on three Old Testament women who are drawn into God’s family of forgiveness. The Seed of the Savior comes from their family tree.
Each of these ladies has written a fictional letter to present-day women. Within these letters is woven the Holy Spirit’s scriptural narrative of these Women of the Promise.
The third letter is from Ruth. It is a story of redemption.
Dear Sisters,
My story is one of tragedy that led to triumph. My story is not that unusual. It began with a family from Bethlehem who had left their home because of the famine that plagued the land of Judah. They decided to move to Moab 50 miles south in the hopes of making a better life.
There is nothing unusual in this. It happens all the time, even now. Perhaps you have moved to this area from somewhere else, hoping for a better life.
At first, there is tragedy in Moab. The patriarch of the family, Elimelek, dies, leaving his wife, Naomi, a widow. Then there is rejoicing as Elimelek and Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, marry myself and my friend, Orpah. But soon there is tragedy again as our two husbands die, leaving us widowed and childless.
Reader: Ruth 1:1-5 During the days of the judges, a famine occurred in the land. So a man left Bethlehem in Judah to stay awhile in the territory of Moab—he, his wife, and his two sons. The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were from the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the territory of Moab and remained there.
But Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, so she was left with her two sons. They then married Moabite wives. The name of the first was Orpah, and the name of the second was Ruth. They lived there for about ten years. But Naomi’s sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. So the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
Ruth: All three of us widows were grieving. We felt hopeless. There was no one to take care of Naomi. At least Orpah and I had our families in Moab. Naomi had no one.
When Naomi decided to make the seven-to-ten-day journey through rugged terrain to return to Bethlehem, I decided to go with her. We wouldn’t have anything in Bethlehem. But, at least, we would have each other.
Reader: Ruth 1:11-18 Then Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Am I going to give birth to any more sons who could become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters. Go! For I am too old to be married to another husband. Suppose I say, ‘I have hope, and I will be married to another husband tonight, and I will even give birth to sons.’ Would you wait for them until they grow up? On the basis of that hope would you give up the chance to marry another husband? No, my daughters. It is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has reached out against me.”
They once again wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth would not let her go.
Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods. Go back! Follow your sister-in-law.”
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to abandon you or to turn back from following you. Because wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you make your home, I will make my home. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely and double it if anything but death separates me from you.”
When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
Ruth: As I said, my tragedy is not uncommon. Why would my story end up in the Bible? A tale like mine is a dime a dozen. You hear these stories in war-torn countries, in families displaced by ethnic cleansing, at sea among desperate refugees, or in gang-ridden neighborhoods where death is an all too familiar visitor.
The pain is too uncomfortable to watch. It is too overwhelming. When we are experiencing this pain, it feels like all eyes are on us. But when we see others are experiencing this pain, we often look away or pass by.
But God would not allow my disaster to pass him by.
He did not look away. He was watching the entire way.
Though nobody could have foretold it, God used our tragedy to plant the seeds of his own Son’s family tree.
Naomi and I arrived in Bethlehem in early spring as the barley harvest was beginning. I began working in the barley fields to support Naomi and myself. After the harvesters picked the grain, I followed behind “gleaning” or picking the left-over grain.
It wasn’t by chance or good luck that I ended up working in the fields of a man named Boaz. In his divine providence, God made sure I began working in Boaz’s fields. Boaz showed great kindness to me, instructing his harvesters to leave extra grain for me to pick.
In Old Testament Israel, God had set up provisions for widows and orphans (See summer sermon by Pastor Nelson here, Deut. 24). Through such plans, such as leaving extra grain for gleaning, Ruth finds food. God uses that grain to provide food for Ruth on a daily basis. Through this grain, God connects her to a new husband, Boaz. From there God gives a child and a family line. That family line includes the Savior, providing salvation (provision) for the whole world.
That Savior Jesus, born in Bethlehem, (“house of bread”), is at some times represented by the symbol of wheat, both for the nativity and resurrection. (Nativity as the bread of life and holy communion; the resurrection related to a wheat seed being planted and sprouting new life.) This symbol is a rich one.
A note from artist, Corissa Nelson on her use of the grain for Ruth
Reader: Ruth 2:19-20 Then her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May the man who took notice of you be blessed!”
So she told her mother-in-law in whose field she had worked: “The name of the man in whose field I worked today is Boaz.”
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose faithfulness has not forsaken the living and the dead!”
Naomi also said to her, “This man is related to us. He is even one of our family’s redeemers.”
Ruth: Naomi identified Boaz as “one of our family’s redeemers.” According to Old Testament law, a “redeemer” had the right to purchase the land of a deceased relative. By doing so, he would also receive the widow as his spouse. Boaz desired to purchase the land of my father-in-law, Elimelek. He would then also receive me as his wife.
But first, there was another relative who had the first right to be our family’s redeemer. He desired the land, but not the wife. So, he allowed Boaz to redeem the land as his own and myself as his wife.
Reader: Ruth 4:1-6, 9-10 Boaz went up to the city gate, and he sat down there. Just then, the redeemer about whom Boaz had spoken was passing by. Boaz said, “Come over here! Sit down, my dear friend!” So he came over and sat down.
Then Boaz chose ten men from the elders of the town, and he said, “Sit down here!” They too sat down.
Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who returned from the territory of Moab, is putting up for sale the piece of land that belongs to our brother Elimelek. On my part, I thought I should call it to your attention so that you may acquire it in the presence of these residents and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you wish to redeem it, redeem it. But if you do not wish to redeem it, declare that to me. I know that there is no one ahead of you in the right to redeem, but I am right after you.”
So the man said, “Yes, I will redeem it.”
Then Boaz said, “On the day that you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, I will acquire from Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the deceased, the means to perpetuate the name of the deceased on his inheritance.”
Then the redeemer said, “I am not able to redeem it for myself, or I would ruin my inheritance. You acquire for yourself my right of redemption, because I am not able to redeem it.”
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelek and everything that belonged to Kilion and Mahlon. Furthermore, Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired for myself as a wife, in order to perpetuate the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased shall not be cut off from his brothers and from the city gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”
Ruth: After our marriage, God blessed us with a son. We named him, Obed. Eventually, Obed became the father of Jesse. Jesse became the father of David, who was anointed by God to be the king of Israel.
Many generations later, the Bible tells us that there was “a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:27).
God took our family tragedy and created a triumph for all the families of the world!
God took our seemingly dead soil and planted the seeds of the family tree of the Savior.
No doubt, you have endured tragedies like mine. Take comfort, sisters, God has not forgotten you. He has not allowed your disaster to pass him by. He is watching the entire way. Your grief and suffering are the very soil from which Jesus’ family tree springs to life.
Jesus came into this world to be your Redeemer. The Christ of Christmas was born to redeem us, to buy us back from sin and eternal death. Thirty-three years after Jesus was wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a manger, he was wrapped in burial cloths and laid in a tomb.
God’s plan of redeeming humanity was completed. Jesus finished the work his Father had planned through Abraham and Sarah, Salmon and Rahab, and Boaz and myself. With his holy, precious blood, Jesus paid the redemptive price to purchase all people from sin, death, Satan, and hell. For proof of Christ’s redemptive work, look no further than the strips of burial cloths that Peter found at the tomb on Easter morning.
Despite whatever tragedies you have experienced or are experiencing, Jesus has turned your tragedies into triumph. Through faith in my descendant Jesus, you are a part of his family. Now when you die, you have the confidence that you will see your Redeemer in heaven.
Reader: Job 19:25-27 As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the end of time he will stand over the dust. Then, even after my skin has been destroyed, nevertheless, in my own flesh I will see God. I myself will see him. My own eyes will see him, and not as a stranger.
Your sister in Christ,
Ruth
Song: My Soul in Stillness Waits
- Adapted from a devotion entitled “A Tiny Disaster” by Lutheran Hour Devotions
Michael Zarling
For the first 8 years of my ministry, I served at Faith Lutheran Church, an exploratory congregation in Radcliff, KY. I presently serve at Epiphany Lutheran Church and Wisconsin Lutheran School (WLS) in Racine, WI. I am also very involved with our youth as the WLS head soccer coach and the head counselor for WELS Training Camp, a youth camp for 3rd – 9th graders. I have been married to Shelley for 20 years. Together we have 4 beautiful daughters – Abigail, Miriam, Lydia and Gabrielle. We also have 2 dogs – Messi and Mia – named after Lionel Messi and Mia Hamm (the Zarling family really likes soccer!)
