Ruth Series 1/4 June 7 2026

Welcome to our 4 week series

on the book of Ruth.

More or less, we will cover one chapter

each week this June.

While a good chuck of today’s story is quite sad,

Ruth is a delightful book,

not just named after a faithful woman,

but featuring strong women as main characters.

Only Esther shares that claim to fame in our bible.

Although God does not speak in this book,

we can discern God’s work

in and through the relationships.

God is at work in the compassionate and courageous acts

of these faithful women

to preserve their family.

This story takes place after the time of the judges of Israel

and before the kingdom of Israel under David.

We are not sure who wrote it exactly.

It may have been written while

David was in command around 1000 BCE,

written to tell about

the king’s foreign grandmother,

but more likely it was written in the 4th century BCE,

some 500 or 600 years later

after the Israelites returned from exile.

That was a time in which folks were

suspicious of foreign women,

and Ruth helps combat this fear.

Scholars point out language use is more consistent

with about 4th century BCE.

Whether written 3000 or 2500 years ago,

Ruth preserves history well.

For example, in chapter 4:7,

the author describes a custom

from well before David’s time,

that was no longer practiced.

This part will be lots of fun for us bible nerds,

but that’ll have to wait until week 4.

For now,

allow a brief review of Levirite marriage,

because this is an important part of the story.

Basically, if the husband died leaving his wife a widow,

the deceased’s brother will marry the widow,

preserving family line, land and property.

It was meant to provide security for widows,

but it also kept widows captive,

powerless, without choice.

This was the concern, Levirite marriage,

for the Samaritan woman at the well,

who had had 5 husbands.

Interesting part of Levirite marriage in ancient times,

upon a husband’s death,

his brother might end up having multiple wives.

That was normal, biblical marriage,

but in Ruth, marriage seems to be monogamous.

There are lots of little cultural and historical insights

we can glean from Ruth.

Invite Reader forward.

The story of Ruth begins and ends in a familiar place:

Bethlehem.

This will one day be called the city of David.

This will one day be known and celebrated

as the birthplace of Jesus the Christ.

The scene is set:

Let us open our hearts and minds to God’s Word.

Pronunciation Guide:

Elimelech: ee-LIM-e-lek

Chilion: KILL-ee-un

Mahlon: MAH-lun

Ephrathites: EFF-rah-thy-ts

First Reading: Ruth 1

A reading from Ruth.

  ¹ In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. ³ But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

  ⁶ Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. ⁷ So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. ¹⁰ They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³ would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” ¹⁴ Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
  ¹⁵ So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said,
 “Do not press me to leave you,
  to turn back from following you!
 Where you go, I will go;
  where you lodge, I will lodge;
 your people shall be my people
  and your God my God.
 ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die,
  and there will I be buried.
 May the Lord do thus to me,
  and more as well,
 if even death parts me from you!”
¹⁸ When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
  ¹⁹ So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ She said to them,
 “Call me no longer Naomi;
  call me Mara,
  for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.
 ²¹ I went away full,
  but the Lord has brought me back empty;
 why call me Naomi
  when the Lord has dealt harshly with me
  and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
  ²² So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Word of God, word of life.

Thanks be to God.

Like an onion fresh from the garden,

there are so many layers in this story

that we will peel back each week.

These layers matter.

This is not just a story about one widow’s 

faithfulness to her mother in law.

It is about the God of these people.

God is at work in the world,

in our own lives,

God meets us at various intersections,

And so it is in Ruth,

these layers, these intersections matter.

If you were counting,

you would notice that the word Moab or Moabite

was read 7 times in this chapter.

This is not a fluke:

the author wants you to know

beyond a shadow of a doubt

that Moab and the Moabites are central.

Naomi left Bethlehem in Judah

because of a terrible famine.

Bethlehem means “the house of bread”

and there is no bread there!

This makes complete sense.

Migrate or die.

It makes no sense to go to Moab.

Moabites were considered an abomination,

the enemy of Israel.

From Deuteronomy 23:

“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 to the assembly of the Lord, because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. (…)  You shall never promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you live.”

Yes, that is in our bible.

Imagine how bad things would have to be

in order to not only leave your home,

but to enter that enemy territory

because of such a famine.

This is a story of utter desperation and grief

in a time of chaos, anarchy and disobedience in Israel.

According to Judges 21,

“In those days there was no king in Israel;

all the people did what was right in their own eyes”

Never a good idea according to our bible.

It is somewhat similar to a story of German immigrants

who left a place called Galicia in the 1890’s

due to a catastrophic drought

which brought the real threat of famine,

typhus and death.

Migrate or die.

Some migrated into so-called enemy territory,

and others took a chance to both survive and thrive

in western Canada.

These migrants, refugees,

planted our oldest Lutheran congregations here.

Our God is a migratory God,

who journeys with us when we are called or forced

to hit the road.

The Spirit accompanies us on the road to new life.

Back to Ruth:

The husbands have died.

Naomi’s husband Elimilech has died.

Elimilech means “God is King”.

I hear a deeper meaning here.

Naomi’s spouse’s name proclaimed God is King,

and that spouse is dead,

and Naomi seems to have a choice in a foreign land,

do you worship your God - YHWH - your King,

or do you forsake the God

who seems to have caused your suffering?

God didn't cause her husband Elimilech to die,

at least not explicitly,

but Naomi may have thought that God was cursing her.

That was a pretty popular belief:

suffering being a curse for unfaithfulness to God.

Will she remain faithful?

Will she remain faithful after her sons have died?

Her sons were named Mahlon and Chilion,

Mahlon means man of sickness.

Chilion means failing - coming to an end.

Whew - what’s in a name?

The husbands of Ruth and Orpah

are literally sick and dying!

Even with her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah,

surrounded by such death,

Naomi must have felt bereft and alone.

She encouraged them to return home,

to stay in Moab,

to find Moabite husbands.

This was likely a compassionate plea

because Naomi didn’t want to be a burden,

and she knew that these Moabite daughter-in-laws

would be hated by her fellow Israelites

in her hometown of Bethlehem.

Because of the ancient household system, power, economics,

These daughter in laws needed husbands to survive.

Naomi couldn’t provide them.

Yet Naomi herself is vulnerable.

As a widow in that culture,

she needs someone to care for her,

and her daughters-in-law.

Orpah and Ruth have no brother-in-law to take them in.

They would risk much by going with Naomi

back to Bethlehem.

Orpah went back home to Moab.

She kissed Naomi and left.

God bless her on her way.

But Ruth takes the chance,

showing devotion not only to her mother in law,

but to the God of Israel,

YHWH.

Remember, Ruth is a Moabite who married an Israelite -

and in turn took on devotion to the God of Israel.

Devotion to God is greater

than devotion to outdated,

imperfect religious customs

that need to change because

they do more harm than good.

We too ought to pay attention to and change

our own imperfect religious customs

that cause more harm than good.

May our devotion to God and neighbour surpass

any devotion to the outdated.

Back to the story,

As they returned to Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem,

it caused quite a stir:

the town was literally buzzing with conversation.

You can imagine the kinds of things they’re saying.

you know,

the kinds of words

that we might utter under our own breath.

At some point in this journey home,

Naomi becomes bitter.

When she sees her old townspeople, she says

“don’t call me Naomi, anymore…

call me bitter.

Call me Mara.”

What’s in a name?

Naomi means pleasant.

But now she is Mara, bitter.

God sent me away full

and I am returning empty.

Why has God caused this to me?

But she is not empty.

She has Ruth.

The Moabite.

The devoted, widowed daughter in law.

That might not be enough for Naomi,

but it is more than enough for God.

More on bitterness later…

Another layer to the story:

Ruth was barren.

She had no children.

Barrenness meant death and shame in that culture.

This is another reason why

Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi

encouraged her to stay behind,

that she might find a new husband,

and, perhaps have a child.

Remember this:

God’s work brings new life out of death….

Next week we hear about Ruth meeting Boaz,

and God’s work of new life there.

For today -

With God’s work comes a movement from death to life.

new life out of death and barrenness,

like Sarah and Abraham,

and like Isaac and Rebecca,

like Israel in slavery,

like Ruth in her barrenness.

Here’s the magnitude of God’s work through this family:

Boaz and Ruth later had a son: Obed.

Obed is the father of Jesse.

Jesse the father of David,

King of Israel.

And greatest of all,

from this line comes God in the flesh,

Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.

who gleaned from and continued in the path of

Boaz and Ruth and brought about new life

and salvation for all nations.

We talk regularly about how Jesus was Jewish,

yet Jesus also has Moabite blood -

Jesus is God’s favoured and the enemy,

the chosen and the hated,

holy and the abomination.

The pure and sinless One has mixed blood.

Jesus saves not just the Jews but all people.

The umbrella of God’s grace is universal:

family, friends,

neighbours, and even enemies.

Salvation for all is found inside Christ.

If you can recall Jesus’ family tree,

it is far from perfect;

and with Jesus, there is redemption

for the far from perfect.

God is with those who have no other option.

God is with those who migrate or die;

God is with those who must leave everything behind.

A word on bitterness.

Many Canadians are bitter, and many Albertans at that.

Bitter because of economics,

politics,

polarization.

Naomi is bitter.

She cries out “God sent me away full

and I am returning empty.

Why has God caused this to me?”

Yet she does not leave YHWH.

She could have easily left our God

for the Moabite god Chemosh.

Even in her bitterness,

even after a terrible famine,

with death after death after death,

loss after loss,

being the subject of scrutiny and gossip,

Naomi remains faithful to God -

just like Ruth.

Ruth’s love for Naomi is God’s love poured out in relationship.

Ruth came back to Bethlehem empty,

but the harvest is coming.

In hope, Ruth can remain faithful.

Faithfulness informs everything we do.

The gift of faith informs our politics,

our economics,

our everything.

Our God is faithful to you.

Always.

When we find ourselves bitter,

trust that God’s presence is faithful

and God will call us into openness to the other, to make room for the other,

and in that making room,

we might find our Mara turn to Naomi,

that our bitterness melts to pleasantness.

To be faithful to God is to make room for the other.

When we find ourselves bitter,

May God call us back into faithfulness.

May we learn from Naomi,

and find our own faith

in loyalty and devotion to God and the other.

May we trust that for ourselves

and for any who need migrate or die,

that God will continue to turn death into new life.

Thanks be to God. Amen.