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Outlines on the Book of Ruth
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1978
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson

 

Chapter 1

THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD UPON
A DISOBEDIENT FAMILY

Introduction: This short, but divinely inspired book of Ruth is exceedingly beautiful and rich in meaning. Its literary style is superb. It is a beautiful lovestory. There is the love of a daughter-in-law, Ruth, for her mother-in-law, Naomi. There's the love of a man, Boaz, for a woman, Ruth. Above all, here is a story of the love of God for his people. His love is displayed not only in His gracious provision of a home with Boaz for the two weary women; but also in the divine descendant of the couple, Boaz and Ruth, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate expression of the redeeming love of God. Ruth is also a story of redemption. There is the redemption of a lost land and possessions, the lost estate of the widow Naomi. There is also the redemption of a widow, the Moabitess, Ruth. Ruth is also a great book of prophecy. Naomi is prophetic of the nation of Israel, dispersed among the nations, but finally to return home. Boaz is a beautiful type of Christ, our kinsman redeemer, who did for us what the law (represented by the nearer kinsman of Ruth 3:12) could never do. Ruth is a prophetic picture of the church, the bride of Christ, unworthy in herself, but redeemed through infinite grace. This book stresses the security of the believer and many other rich truths, which we will endeavor to point out during the course of these studies.

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION IMPORTANT TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF RUTH:

A. The time of Ruth was during the administration of Israel by judges:

1. There were 13 judges in all:

a. Othniel, Judges 3:9

b. Ehud Judges 3:15

c. Shamgar, Judges 3:31

d. Deborah, Judges 4:4

e. Barak, Judges 4:8

f. Gideon, Judges 6:11

g. Tola, Judges 10:1-2

h. jair, Judges 10:3

i. Jephthah, Judges 11:1

l. Abdon, Judges 12:13

m. Samson, Judges 14:1, with Judges 16:31

2. Though there were interim periods between the reigns of the judges, the period of the judges lasted about 450 years:

B. During these 450 years, Israel was carried into servitude six times for a total of 111 years:

C. The policies of God, which directly affected the land of Israel and its people during this period:

1. God had made a longstanding promise to Israel that he would bless both the people and the land as long as they would keep his commandments and walk in his statutes:

a. Listen to his promises as set forth in Leviticus 26:3-12. "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safe/y. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: And I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."

b. God had also promised in Exodus 15:26, "if thou wilt diligently harken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee."

c. Here is the promise of Cod as stated in Deuteronomy 7:12-14. "Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye harken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers. And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall be no ma/e or female barren among you, or among your cattle. "

d . Listen to Deuteronomy 28:1-14. "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt harken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt harken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou harken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. "

e. So, as long as Israel kept the commandments of the Lord and walked in his statutes, they were assured, by divine promise, a healthy, prosperous, joyous, and long existence in the land of Israel.

2. On the other hand, God's longstanding promise was to chasten and deal harshly with the people and land at any time they disregarded his commandments and failed to walk in his statutes:

a. Read his promise of Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Here are a few of these verses: verse 15-21, verse 33, verse 34, "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not harken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou harkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:"

b. Read also Leviticus 26:14-39. Notice especially that verses 14-16 render these words, "But if ye will not harken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise all my statutues, or if your soul shall abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you:..." Then he goes on to spell out what he will do, and it is terrible. But note well that the terrible chastening from the Lord was to be as a direct result of the sins and failures of the people.

c. I Kings 8:35 says, "When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee."

d. So, famine and trouble in Israel was God's judgment upon disobedience. Any time the people of Israel disregarded the commandments of the Lord and walked not in his statutes, they had the promise of God that chastening was coming, both upon themselves and their land.

3. A third very important policy of God affecting Israel during this period was the fact that once the sinning people truly repented of their evils, God would cease his chastening and restore the land to prosperity:

a. Here are his words in Leviticus 26:40-42, "if they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me,, and that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: then will I remember my covenant..."

b. Listen to these words of God in Chronicles 7:13-14, "if I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. "

c. So, all sinning Israel had to do to alleviate the problems upon themselves and their land was to get right with God.

II. WITH THESE THOUGHTS IN MIND, CONSIDER ELIMELECH AND HIS FAMILY:

A. At the beginning of this story, Elimelech and his family were living in Bethlehem-judah, which is in the very heart of Israel:

1. Ruth 1:1 calls Elimelech, "A certain man of Bethlehem-judah."

2. The literal meaning of the name Bethlehem is "The house of bread."

3. The literal meaning of Judah is "The praise of the Lord. "

4. The literal meaning of the name Elimelech is "my God is King" and the meaning of the name Naomi is "pleasant one."

5. These facts paint a vivid picture to open the book of Ruth: In a time when Israel had no king, there was a certain man, who, as his name implies, said, "my God is King." This man was living in the very house of bread with his pleasant wife in a country where he should have been able to praise the Lord.

B. But, there was disobedience and sin in the house of Elimelech and in the house of bread and land of praise:

1. The very first verse of the book proves that by saying that "there was a famine in the land." A famine in Israel was chastening from the Lord as a direct result of sin, so the famine of Ruth 1:1 proves that Israel had sinned.

2. Furthermore, Elimelech and Naomi had two sons, their names were Mahlon and Chilion:

a. The literal meaning of Mahlon is "sick."

b. The literal meaning of Chilion is "pining."

c. Unhealthy sons like these could only result in Israel from sin in a family.

C. Instead of doing what God required to eliminate the adverse conditions in the house of Elimelech and the land of Israel, Elimelech and his family left the land:

1. Elimelech and Israel had departed from the Lord and his chastening hand was upon them. To eliminate the chastening of the Lord, God's policy required that Israel truly repent and confess their sins, as we've seen from Chron. 7:14.

2. But, Elimelech did not walk according to the testimony of his name of "my God is King." Instead of humbling himself before God in repentance and confession, he hardened himself against the Lord and left the land, an act of stubborn unbelief. True prosperity and healing for the two sons "sick and pining" could only be had in the land as a blessing of the covenant.

3. Furthermore, Elimelech went to Moab, the land of the offspring of Lot's fruit of sin:

a. Genesis 19:30-37 records the account of Lot's sex sins with his own daughters, which resulted in the conception of Moab, the father of the Moabites.

b. The Moabites were wicked (I Kings 11:33, Ezra 9: 1), and were enemies of the people of Israel, Judges 3:28, II Kings 3:24, II Kings 13:20, etc.

c. There were eras of peace between Israel and Moab; but as the above scriptures prove, often there was open conflict.

4. So, the case of Elimelech was that rather than repenting and confessing his sins in the land of Israel, that he and his family might be restored to prosperity and health, this man left the land of promise and place of blessing, and went to the land of his enemies, where he was promised of God nothing but trouble and chastening.

D. Furthermore, the latter part of Verse 2 says Elimelech came into Moab with his family "and continued there:"

1. The famine was a "reproach" [Ezek. 36:30] and direct infliction of hurt from the Lord; yet rather than do anything to alleviate the cause, Elimelech and his family just continued there.

2. Once when there was another famine in Israel in 11 Sam. 21:1, David "enquired of the Lord" as to the cause of it. When Israel fell into servitude for the fourth time, Gideon asked "if the Lord be for us why then is this befallen us" Judges 6:13. Surely, this is not only the scriptural, but also the logical and sensible way to act. When there is trouble, see why. Get to the root of the problem.

3. But, like so many who depart from the Lord into backsliding, Elimelech did nothing to correct what was wrong. Instead, he simply continued in his perverse way.

III. CONSIDER NOW THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD UPON ELIMELECH AND HIS FAMILY AS A RESULT OF THEIR DISBELIEF AND DEPARTURE FROM THE LORD:

A. As a consideration of the policies of God shows, Elimelech's and Israel's problem resulted directly from their sins:

1. If Elimelech had inquired, he'd have no doubt found God's answer to have been the same to him as it was to Gideon, who inquired as to the cause of chastisement. God told Gideon in Judges 6:10, "Ye have not obeyed my voice. "

2 . There can be other reasons for adversity and suffering as John 9:2-3 and the case of Job prove, but sin will always bring it forth:

a. Hebrews 12:5-11 promises the chastening of the Lord for faltering Christians.

b. God says, "be sure your sin will find you out," Numbers 32:23.

B. Elimelech's continued departure from the Lord finally resulted in his physical death:

1. Verse 4 says these Israelites dwelt in Moab "about ten years." It was at some point during these 10 years that Elimelech died.

2. Verse 3 says, "and Elimelech Naomi's husband died. "'

C. Verse 5 records these words, "And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them:"

1. Before their deaths, both the boys had married Moabitess girls:

a. The girls were Ruth and Orpah.

b. Ruth literally means "friendship or beauty" ; and Orpah means "Neck or stubbornness. "

2. But, these sons, symbolic of the sickly faith of their father, did this thing in total disregard to God's Word, which specifically forbade it, Ex. 34:16, Deut. 3:4.

3. So, these unions of marriage were corrupt from their inceptions, and never produced a sound testimony in the house of Elimelech. Instead, the inevitable and ultimate result was death.

4. Elimelech went to Moab "and continued there"; and as is the father, so are the sons. So, instead of separating themselves from the enemies of the truth as they should have [II Cor. 6:14-17] and returning to Israel, the center of God's will for their lives, these sons "also" continued there in Moab and married their enemies.

5. But, as Verse 5 says, "They died also", and the word "also" shows that their deaths resulted from the same condition of sin and disobedience that brought about the death of their father, Elimelech. God is no respecter of persons [Acts 10:34]; and fathers and sons, who disregard the truths of God and his will for their lives, will both drink the same bitter dreggs of chastening. And, that is not only true of Christians of the past. It is still just as true as ever, and you cannot escape any more than Elimelech and his sons did.

D. Naomi recognized what happened to herself and her family to be the chastening of the Lord:

1. When Elimelech died, verse 3 says of Naomi, "And she was left, and her two sons." Then the two sons died, and verse 5 says, "and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. "

2. But, this woman did not write it off as "fate" or "bad luck." She knew the source of her troubles was God, which is far more than can be said for most Christians who get into trouble these days. She acknowledged in verse 13, "The hand of the Lord is gone out against me." She also pointed out in verse 20-21, "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. "

E. What a tragic and needless series of calamities befell this family.

1. They were from the very house of bread and land of praise, where except for sin, there would have been perpetual prosperity and joy; just as in the life of a believer today there can and will be perpetual spiritual prosperity and joy, except where sin is allowed to enter and continue.

2. When in verse 6, things got right with God in Israel, Naomi "heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread." There would have been bread in Israel long before, if God's people had been right with him; and there'd be spiritual "bread enough and to spare" [Luke 15:17] in the life of every child of God, if only that child would let God have the rule and throne of his heart.

3. Only because of their own self will and stubbornness against God's will did Elimelech and Naomi have sick and pining sons. Only because of continued departure from God did Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion lose their lives. And, it was because of their sin that Naomi found herself in such a bitter predicament. Because of their refusal to let God have the Lordship of their lives, these people brought troubles upon themselves, just as we children of God do today, when we refuse to so yield ourselves to God that he might work in us to both will and do his good pleasure, Phil 2:13.

4. Bread in the house of bread is normal, but the blessings of the house of bread are only available in the house of bread. When there is a famine in the house of bread, it is always a deadly mistake to leave the house and go out into the world in search of a bread that cannot satisfy. The thing to do is stay in the house of bread and search for the cause of the famine. Once that cause is found, then let it be eliminated according to God's plan. Once it is, bread will again be found in the house of bread. But, when it is, everyone who has gone into worldly Moab to search for it, will miss it, for true good bread is only available in the house of bread.

5. Every time we Christians refuse to walk "in Christ" [Col. 2:6], only spiritual barrenness will greet our eyes and we will find husks that cannot fill our souls. But, once we return in repentance and confession to our God, we will find the fatted calf and bread enough and to spare at our Father's table.