Notes on Ruth
The following are some of my research notes on Ruth from Voddie Baucham's Sermon Series for a Bible study that I was, at one time, preparing. One day study will come to fruition, but until then use these notes to help you grasp the weight of the book of Ruth (a largely overlooked book of the Bible).
Matthew 1 shows us who Ruth is and how/why she is important.
Ruth is practical.
Her story is a common one that is about courtship and marriage that makes a child.
This courtship/marriage has MANY difficulties: Famine threatening the life of her people; death at the start; distance a foreign land; culture/race of Moabite woman-her people are enemies of Israel. Issues of law and tradition: most of which is hard for us to understand; Common difficulties: closest living relatives will be spouse-not a blood relative; How does one go from stranger to close relative; they must overcome cultural barriers-God makes a way; there is no explicit mention of "love" or looks in Ruth. Their love has nothing to do with looks; Boaz loves Ruth so much that he is willing to lose her as long as she is cared for.
We look at hardship and say "God isn't there" Not True! God is in control of all things; even the hardship.
God uses strangers. Naomi's son chose Ruth when Ruth came to Bethlehem
Hardship to hope. Ruth is a proper understanding of God's providence.
Christ is reflected in our courtship. Our relationships should be governed by God's truth.
Ruth is a picture of Christ's pursuit of His Church; so should our relations be.
"if the two of us are the same then one of us is unnecessary" God uses everyone; even people who are very different than us.
God TRANSFORMS thru a lack of compatibility. The character of Christ is everything.
Submission and devotion.
IN courtship: the woman does not submit to the man.
Wives SUBMIT to Husband. Not GF to BF.
Is she submissive to those in her life she's supposed to be right now? Then she will submit in marriage.
Wives submit to the husband. Husband loves the wife.
The man submits to whatever authority is over his wife; chiefly God, particularly as His law relates to the protection of her purity and character.
That's what Boaz does when he goes to the other redeemer.
His love was not more important than God, Israel, and Law.
He valued obedience to God over loving/having Ruth.
He submitted to what was required of him.
Love and security.
She is protected because of him. She's lovingly secure because of him.
Passion and purity.
If there is no passion why marry?
Passion doesn't override. Purity does.
Our Courtship reflects Christ.
We can't do that without purity.
The redemption of Christ is reflected in our marriages.
Marriage is a horizontal picture of vertical reality.
Thus marriage is never an end by itself; it's a part of a story/plan.
Knowing this helps us to see and combat our limits and seek God and overcome issues because those must be used by God too.
You find your fulfillment in Christ; not in marriage.
Hope and redemption.
Ruth is in the time of Judges. So there are no kings yet.
Yet, in the end, there is a grandparent of one who is a shadow of the True Answer.
Boaz shows us the Redeemer who is to come.
The child who is born is a grandparent of the king who will come who is a picture of the Redeemer who will come from him.
Thus, Ruth is about hope and redemption.
Famine at the start of the story and harvest at the end of The Story
The Providence that brings us together PT1:
Ruth is related to our current time/age.
Right now, we love weddings more than marriage.
We are raising a generation who want a wedding but not marry; sex with no higher purpose.
Feminism says that were not bound to biblical marriage roles.
Homosexuals who say were not bond to biblical sexuality.
Trangenders who say were not bond to biblical identity.
The providence of God that brings us together; the character of Christ that is shown in courting; the redemption of Christ that is shown in marriage.
1:1-5; Full of tragedy.
This is where we rely on providence.
Providence = God created the world and gives it life and maintains the creation/properties; (most use Providence but mean Christian luck), He co-operations with His creation in every action directing their properties to cause them to do as they do; He directs them to fulfill its purposes everything everywhere. Do you believe this?
Do you believe that God doesn't abandon you in tragedy?
Ruth is a historical book.
Ruth is a bridge between covenant mediator Joshua and covenant mediator king David.
Look at Ruth at the end to understand the beginning. We don't understand what God does right now; we will later. We see God working backwards.
Christ her great-grandson is the fulfillment of God's covenant with His people.
Famine=judgement of God.
They leave the house of God's dwelling; of His promise and go to enemy land.
Moabites=descents of Lot; via drunken incest panic.
Moabites opposed Israel in the time of Judges.
Moreover, there is the death of a husband.
The problem is not intermarriage racial groups; because if that were so then Ruth and Boaz have that problem. The problem is them marrying women who don't know God.
Moreover, these are 3 women alone.
Thus, they were economically dependant on society.
2 Moabite women widowed after having married Israelity men; thus they cant marry Moabite men now. Thus, more tragedy.
In tragedy, we're still dealing with Providence. If you can't deal with the Providence of God in dark you can't see it in the light.
When your hopes and dreams are broken that's when you lean on Providence.
This paragraph is to show us the darkness; the horrible situation.
God's providence is there in His people's pain.
Application: All of these tragedies would seem to point to God's forsakenness.
Not one of the tragedies was a punishment for sin.
You can have a tragedy that's not God punishing you for sin. It CAN be. But it probably isn't
God operates on grace!
Nor were these tragedies brought on by Satanic attacks/magic/outside forces/etc.