2020.01.22 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 4:13-22

Read Ruth 4:13-22

Questions from the Scripture text: What did Yahweh give Ruth in Ruth 4:13? What did she bear? What did the women say to Naomi (Ruth 4:14)? About whom do we find out they are speaking in Ruth 4:15? What do they pray that he will be for her? Who becomes one of the boy’s primary caregivers (Ruth 4:16)? Who call his name Obed (Ruth 4:17)? Who is the boy’s grandson? With whom does the genealogy in Ruth 4:18-22 begin (verse 18, cf. Ruth 4:12; Genesis 46:12)? With whom does it end? 

It is the fairytale happy ending to the story. Boaz and Ruth got married and lived happily ever after. Except that it isn’t. Because it isn’t even really about Boaz and Ruth.

They get a little mention in Ruth 4:13, but really the rest of the text is about Naomi whose forsakenness and forlornness was the main theme at the beginning of the story. Now, she is full and blessed. And who is her redeemer? Ruth 4:15 makes it plain that the redeemer mentioned here is the son that Ruth had borne.

But is it Obed? Already, of course, we have a hint that it is not. David is mentioned twice in the text. First, he is the short-term target of the line of Obed in Ruth 4:17. Then, the text reaches back to Perez, who received special mention among the grandsons of Jacob in Genesis 46, in order to reach down again to David.

Already, the elders of the city had recognized the specialness of this in Ruth 4:12. We too are remembering that there was a seed promised to Eve who would crush the serpent’s head. And then there was a seed promised to Abraham in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And there was a prophecy upon Judah that the scepter would not depart from his house. The special mention of Perez in Genesis 46:12 and Ruth 4:12 and Ruth 4:18 has an eye that is not so much backward to Perez as it is forward to Jesus.

Soon this David, the great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth, would receive his own Messianic promise—that he would have a descendent whose kingdom would see no end! Naomi was blessed as she cradled little Obed the redeemer in her arms. Here was love and fulfillment and someone in whom the heritage would be preserved. But she—and we—are blessed here, because in little Obed is the coming Redeemer whose everlasting arms are underneath us, bearing us up (Deuteronomy 33:27). Even at the cost of spreading His human arms on a cross as He bore our sin. Hallelujah!

Whenever we experience these smaller, little-r redemptions, let us remember that for our holy God to do us any of these goods, it has required that big-r Redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is exactly what God was accomplishing, even as He was restoring the fortunes of Naomi.

What small deliverances have you enjoyed? How is it that a holy God could do this for a sinner?

Suggested Songs: ARP46 “God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

2020.01.15 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 4:1-12

Read Ruth 4:1-12

Questions from the Scripture text: Where did Boaz go (Ruth 4:1)? Who came by? Whom did Boaz ask to sit down (Ruth 4:1-2)? What did he say that Naomi had done (Ruth 4:3)? What did he invite the closer redeemer to do in Ruth 4:4? How did the closer relative answer? What piece of information did Boaz add in Ruth 4:5? Now, what was the closer relative’s response (Ruth 4:6)? What sign might one give that he was giving up his right to something (Ruth 4:7)? What does he do in Ruth 4:8? What does Boaz say to the elders in Ruth 4:9-10? How do the elders respond in Ruth 4:11? What blessing do they pronounce in Ruth 4:11-12?

In this passage, there are two prospective redeemers. One of them is unwilling that his own inheritance would be thinned out by sharing, and unwilling to take as wife a widow of undesirable lineage. The other is eager that his brother’s inheritance would not be lost to him, and more than willing to marry the virtuous woman—even if she is a widow, and even if she is a Moabite.

There are happy parallels between Boaz and Christ—Who has taken a bride of ultimate unworthiness, that we might be joint inheritors with Him!

Perhaps the more central point of this passage is that the Lord is sovereignly orchestrating what occurs here, precisely with a view toward the coming of the Lord Jesus into the world. A great and godly man like Boaz is inexplicably unmarried to this point. The precise fellow with whom Boaz needed to negotiate just happens to come through the gate (Ruth 4:1). God’s good law about perpetuating the name of the dead is the hinge upon which the negotiation swings (Ruth 4:5-6). And the line of Judah, through Perez, is specifically on the mind of the elders, as they pronounce blessing upon Boaz (Ruth 4:12).

The same Lord who ruled and overruled, in every providence, in order to bring Christ into the world for us still rules and overrules. If you are a believer in Christ, He now rules and overrules in every providence to apply Christ to you, and to obtain for you what Christ has earned!

What are some difficult circumstances that you are going through right now, or that you anticipate going through soon? What is Christ doing in those circumstances? Why is He?

Suggested Songs: ARP46 “God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

2020.01.08 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 3:14-18

Read Ruth 3:14-18

Questions from the Scripture text: Where did Ruth lay (Ruth 3:14)? Until when? How early did she rise to leave? What did Boaz say in verse 14? What does he tell her to bring (Ruth 3:15)? What does he put in it? How much? Where does Boaz go (n.b. NKJV footnote “he,” which follows the Hebrew)? To whom does she come in Ruth 3:16? What does Naomi ask? What does Ruth tell her? What does Ruth 3:17 highlight her as having especially related to Naomi? What does Naomi tell Ruth to do in Ruth 3:18? When is Naomi sure that Boaz’s word will have been kept (cf. Ruth 3:13)?

Ruth has conducted herself uprightly—note, even, that she continues to lay at his feet rather than by his side. He would not send her home in the middle of the night, for that would be dangerous. And she rises to go before one can recognize another, almost certainly that she might bring shame on neither herself nor Boaz.

But, the field workers will start arriving soon. Whether his speech in Ruth 3:14 is to himself or to those in his trusted inner circle who kept the night watch with him, there would be a great difference between their knowing and how it might appear to a wider group. Also, if he is to win her hand that day, it must not come by prejudicing the proceedings. The nearer kin must feel completely free to redeem her.

Apparently, part of Ruth’s uprightness has been to bring a shawl/cloak big enough to keep herself warm so that she would not really be “under the covers” with Boaz at all. The amount of barley that he is able to measure into it weighs about one hundred twenty pounds! (It’s not surprising that this young woman who has worked so diligently from sunrise to sunset these three months to this point is able to carry that home).

Perhaps the question in Ruth 3:16 is because the person who came in is twice the size of the young lady who left! Or, perhaps it’s just her way of saying, “how did it go?” The latter certainly seems to be the question that Ruth answers, and she wants her mother-in-law to know (Ruth 3:17) that Boaz was mindful of Naomi’s wellbeing too.

For her part, Naomi has a high degree of confidence in Boaz’s character. He is a “greatly worthy” man as Ruth 2:1 said (using the same word that describes Ruth in Ruth 3:11), and if he has said that he will deal with it in the morning, then Naomi is sure that Ruth will know what is to come of her by the end of the day. Indeed, Ruth 3:15 as it reads in the Hebrew (most English translations follow the Syriac or Vulgate for some reason) tells us that as soon as Boaz had loaded Ruth with the grain, he headed into the city. He’s a man of his word—at great cost to himself, to lose a day during this threshing season.

In all of this, Boaz is a type of Christ to us. He has kept His Word to redeem us; and so great is His concern for our honor that, at the cost of the cross, He has obtained our public vindication as those who are right with God. Shall we not also imitate Him in our concern for others’ reputations and in our keeping of our word?

In what ways do you have opportunity to maintain others’ good names? What are some situations in which you have given your word, that you need to keep, even at cost to you?

Suggested Songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent Who Will Reside” or TPH443 “Come unto Me, Ye Weary”

2020.01.01 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 3:7-13

Read Ruth 3:7-13

Questions from the Scripture text: What had Boaz done (Ruth 3:7)? How did his heart feel? Where did he lie down? What did Ruth do? What happened at midnight (Ruth 3:8)? What did he ask (Ruth 3:9)? What does Ruth call herself? For what does she ask? What does Boaz say about her in Ruth 3:10? What reason does he give? What promise does he make in Ruth 3:11? What does he note about her character? What obstacle does he mention in Ruth 3:12? What procedure will he follow (Ruth 3:13)? What does he tell her to do?

The heart of this account is Boaz’s declaration about Ruth in Ruth 3:11 that he has learned from experience what everyone already knew about Ruth by reputation—that she is a “worthy woman” (verse 11). This is the same adjective used of Boaz in Ruth 2:1 (where some English translations dumb it down to “wealth”) and of the Proverbs 31 woman in Proverbs 31:10.

It is a sad comment on our culture then, that we are have grown so obsessed with perversion that many commentators now read such things into this passage. Ruth comes at the only time that she would not corner Boaz embarrassingly, and places herself in the position least compromising to him, while making herself very vulnerable. Boaz acknowledges all of this when he encourages her not to fear in Ruth 3:11.

He recognizes that whereas she could have gone first for a rich and young (or even poor and young) man, she has chosen to go after the man that seems best before Yahweh (by Whom He calls her blessed in Ruth 3:10). The implication is also that she is doing what is best for Naomi.

For his part, Boaz is willing to risk his own line to be a redeemer (the way that the other goel refuses to do on the next day). He also is willing to risk his own reputation (making modern commentators’ accusation all the more ironic) for her safety. The text is clear that their encounter is innocent. She lay at his feet until morning. But accusations from the wicked are not unique to our age, and it was a risk for Boaz to have her remain. Yet, with the gates of the city shut till morning, he finds it better to risk his name than to risk her safety.

We have here the way two different “worthy” (virtuous) people think—they think long-term and according to God’s priorities. How will we think, when it comes time to make job choices, school choices, and yes even marriage choices? God grant that by Christ’s grace, we would think “worthily.”

How do you make your little choices every day? What kind of big choices is this training you to make? What would it look like to be making your little choices in a better way?

Suggested Songs: ARP119A “How Blessed Are Those” or TPH119E “Teach Me, O Lord, Your Way of Truth”

2019.12.25 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 3:7-13

Read Ruth 3:7-13

Questions from the Scripture text: What had Boaz one (Ruth 3:7)? How did his heart feel? Where did he lie down? What did Ruth do? What happened at midnight (Ruth 3:8)? What did he ask (Ruth 3:9)? What does Ruth call herself? For what does she ask? What does Boaz say about her in Ruth 3:10? What reason does he give? What promise does he make in Ruth 3:11? What does he note about her character? What obstacle does he mention in Ruth 3:12? What procedure will he follow (Ruth 3:13)? What does he tell her to do?

The heart of this account is Boaz’s declaration about Ruth in Ruth 3:11 that he has learned from experience what everyone already knew about Ruth by reputation—that she is a “worthy woman” (verse 11). This is the same adjective used of Boaz in Ruth 2:1 (where some English translations dumb it down to “wealth”) and of the Proverbs 31 woman in Proverbs 31:10.

It is a sad comment on our culture then, that we are have grown so obsessed with perversion that many commentators now read such things into this passage. Ruth comes at the only time that she would not corner Boaz embarrassingly, and places herself in the position least compromising to him, while making herself very vulnerable. Boaz acknowledges all of this when he encourages her not to fear in Ruth 3:11.

He recognizes that whereas she could have gone first for a rich and young (or even poor and young) man, she has chosen to go after the man that seems best before Yahweh (by Whom He calls her blessed in Ruth 3:10). The implication is also that she is doing what is best for Noami.

For his part, Boaz is willing to risk his own line to be a redeemer (the way that the other goel refuses to do on the next day). He also is willing to risk his own reputation (making modern commentators’ accusation all the more ironic) for her safety. The text is clear that their encounter is innocent. She lay at his feet until morning. But accusations from the wicked are not unique to our age, and it was a risk for Boaz to have her remain. Yet, with the gates of the city shut till morning, he finds it better to risk his name than to risk her safety.

We have here the way two different “worthy” (virtuous) people think—they think long-term and according to God’s priorities. How will we think, when it comes time to make job choices, school choices, and yes even marriage choices? God grant that by Christ’s grace, we would think “worthily.”

How do you make your little choices every day? What kind of big choices is this training you to make? What would it look like to be making your little choices in a better way?

Suggested Songs: ARP119A “How Blessed Are Those” or TPH119E “Teach Me, O Lord, Your Way of Truth”

2019.12.18 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 3:1-6

Read Ruth 3:1-6

Questions from the Scripture text: Who is speaking to Ruth (Ruth 3:1)? For whom does she say that she will seek rest (“security” in NKJV)? What does she ask about Boaz in Ruth 3:2? What does she tell Ruth about him? What does she tell Ruth to do to herself in Ruth 3:3? Where does she say to go? For what does she say to wait? For what else does Ruth 3:4 say to wait? Where should she go then? What should she do? What will Boaz do? How does Ruth respond to all of this advice from Naomi (Ruth 3:5)? What does she do in Ruth 3:6?

Back in Ruth 1:9, Naomi had urged Ruth and Orpah to go find rest in the house of a new husband, but Ruth had chosen instead to stay with Naomi. Now, Naomi uses the same word to tell Ruth that she will seek rest (security) for her. It’s pretty plain that these instructions are an effort to secure for Ruth a husband.

They’ve been back some three months. Harvesting and threshing are done. Boaz is now onto winnowing, the removal of the chaff that remains after threshing. Ruth has not been approached yet, perhaps as a result of Naomi’s instruction in Ruth 2:22. In fact, she has continued up to this point to behave according to the practice of mourners: not washing or anointing, and wearing mourning clothing.

Now, Naomi tells her to change all of these things. It is very important that we read this passage in light of the custom at the time, and especially in light of what Boaz says in Ruth 2:11 and Ruth 2:14—recognizing that she has conducted herself in a godly manner, and acting to preserve this accurate reputation of hers. The change in behavior is a declaration that she has completed her mourning. Perhaps Naomi suspects that Boaz has not approached Ruth because he was respecting her grief.

It’s also important to note where Naomi tells Ruth to lay down—not next to him, which would have been an inappropriate invitation, but at his feet. There is a statement of availability, which she will make explicit in Ruth 3:9 (asking him to be a goel/redeemer). But, it comes not as an act of seduction but as an act of submission. The passage emphasizes her submission and obedience to Naomi, and presents her as offering the same to Boaz, if he is willing to take her as a wife.

Such situations are difficult to navigate. In a similar one in Genesis 38 (which is brought to mind by Ruth 4:12), Tamar conducted herself immorally (but was still more righteous than Judah). Here, however, Ruth is protected both by her own grace-sustained character, and by having the good counsel of her mother-in-law.

How often, in the church and the Christian life, people have ended up making sinful choices in desperate situations, or out of sincere and good intentions! Let us learn to be committed first and foremost to living rightly before the face of God, and let us avail ourselves of the help of the godly in doing so.

How do you maintain and grow a godly character? Whom has He given to help you?

Suggested Songs: ARP119A “How Blessed Are Those” or TPH119E “Teach Me, O Lord, Your Way of Truth”

Ruth 2:18-23 - "Clinging to the Redeemer"

An audio recording of a sample family worship lesson in today's Hopewell @Home Passage. Empathizing with Naomi's joy over Ruth's knowing Boaz as a redeemer conditions our hearts for the greater joy of knowing Jesus, our infinitely greater Redeemer!

2019.12.11 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 2:18-23

Read Ruth 2:18-23

Questions from the Scripture text: What did Ruth do with the 20 lb of barley grain that she had harvested and threshed (Ruth 2:18)? What did she do with her leftovers from lunch? What questions does this prompt from her mother-in-law (Ruth 2:19)? What does she assume that someone has done for Ruth? With whom does Ruth say she had worked? Upon whom does Naomi call to bless Boaz (Ruth 2:20)? Whom does Naomi say that the Lord has not forgotten? What information does Naomi now give to Ruth about Boaz? And what additional information does Ruth supply in Ruth 2:21? What is Naomi’s opinion of the situation (Ruth 2:22)? What does she tell Ruth not to let happen? How does Ruth respond to this advice (Ruth 2:23)?

Ruth has brought back quite a haul. Not only does she have around 20 pounds of freshly threshed barley grain, but she gives her mother-in-law her lunch leftovers. Naturally, Naomi would like to know from where all of this came. Surely someone has taken notice of Ruth (Ruth 2:19a)!

The news is better than Naomi had thought: Ruth reports that her benefactor was Boaz (verse 19b), which immediately calls forth exclamations of praise of Yahweh (Ruth 2:20). No longer does she speak of the Lord as smiting her, but rather remembering both her and her departed loved ones—probably, specifically, Mahlon or Chilion (we don’t know which had been Ruth’s husband!).

Why such a response? Because, as Naomi says at the end of verse 20, Boaz is their “close relative”—goel in Hebrew, “kinsman-redeemer.” Those in near enough relation to be called a goel had four responsibilities. (1) buy back any land that has been sold out of the clan (Leviticus 25:23-25), (2) buy back relatives who have become slaves by debt (Leviticus 25:47-49), (3) prosecute and avenge murder of any relatives (Numbers 35:16-19), and (4) marry a brother’s widow, if he died without an heir, so that their firstborn would be the heir of the brother (Deuteronomy 25:5-6).

It is this last duty of the redeemer that is most pertinent to Ruth and Naomi’s situation. Back in Ruth 1:11-13, Naomi had basically implied that no one back in Israel would ever do this for her daughters-in-law, sarcastically suggesting that she herself would have to remarry and have more sons for Ruth and Orpah. But now, Boaz, a relative close enough to be a redeemer, has shown favor toward Ruth!

Naomi urges Ruth to commit wholeheartedly to gleaning in Boaz’s field and not even meet anyone else. Ruth takes her advice, and stays for what would have been about three months of harvest. If this first day ended up being an average day, she could have harvested and threshed as much as 1500 lbs! This could have been sold for enough to make them quite comfortable, if not wealthy.

A Christian immediately recognizes his Redeemer here. The One who obtains for us all that we lost. The One who pays our debt and rescues us out of slavery. The One who has crushed the serpent’s head, and who avenges all wrongs done to us. And the One who is willing to take as His bride a church of those who are utterly disqualified—about whom the idea that one would have pity on her and marry her should have been laughable. And yet the Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, has taken us to Himself. Praise be unto the Lord, who has not forsaken His steadfast love to us in Christ!

Thinking of the four types of redemption that the goel was to do, in what ways have you personally needed Jesus do be your Redeemer? What has He done? Is He yours?

Suggested Songs: ARP183 “Under His Wings” or TPH265 “In Christ Alone”

2019.12.04 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 2:8-17

Read Ruth 2:8-17

Questions from the Scripture text: Who is speaking to whom in Ruth 2:8? What does he call her? What does he tell her not to do? Where does he tell her to stay? What does he tell her to watch (Ruth 2:9)? Where does he tell her to go? Why will she be safe? What provision will he make for her? How does she respond physically in Ruth 2:10? What does she ask? What reason does she suggest that he might not have taken notice of her? What does Boaz say has been reported about her (Ruth 2:11)? Whom does Boaz call upon to bless her (Ruth 2:12)? Under what does he say she has come for refuge? How does she respond to that in Ruth 2:13? What does he invite her to do in Ruth 2:14? What special instruction does Boaz give the reapers in Ruth 2:15-16? How long does she work (Ruth 2:17a)? How much beaten out barley does she end up with?

Boaz shows Ruth astonishing tenderness and generosity here. He does not treat her as one of the poor who could, by law, come and get the little scraps after the harvesters. He calls her “my daughter” (Ruth 2:8). He has her stay not with the poor but the young women of his own clan. When break time comes, he has her eat from his table. He is a great nobleman among Israel, and she is a foreigner, and in extreme poverty, and a woman. But he speaks to her with great courtesy  and affection.

In addition to this great tenderness, Boaz is abundantly generous with her. First, he makes sure that she is safe both from others (Ruth 2:9a), and from the elements (verse 9b). No one is permitted to bother her, and she is invited to stay hydrated.

Boaz also makes sure that she gets enough to eat during the break time that she will have some to take back home with her. He says for her to glean not just behind the young men who are harvesting, but right up among the standing sheaves. This way, she will have the opportunity to get the very first pickings.

Boaz even tells the young men to purposely drop grain so that she will have extra. By the time she is done threshing, she has netted 20 lb of barley grain, in addition to her supper leftovers. (Note that she harvests from early in the morning until evening, and then does the hard work of threshing even after that).

In Ruth 2:12, we have a reminder of what we are supposed to see in the character of Boaz: not the greatness of the man, so much as the greatness of his God. The fruit we see in how he lives is the product of what he believes. “Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given you by Yahweh God of Israel.” Faith in the Lord produces likeness to the Lord in kindness and generosity.

Indeed, by the time we come to the end of the book, we will have Boaz displayed as a redeemer—as a picture of the Redeemer to come. In his Christ-likeness, we are to see Christ. And though we come after Christ, rather than foreshadowing Him, we too are called to be a display of the character of the Redeemer—in Whom we believe, and by Whom we are changed. May He make us pictures of His tenderness and generosity!

To whom do you have the chance to show unexpected kindness and generosity?

Suggested Songs: ARP183 “Under His Wings” or TPH400 “Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me”

2019.11.27 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 2:1-7

Read Ruth 2:1-7

Questions from the Scripture text: Who had a relative (Ruth 2:1)? What did that man have? What was his name? What does Ruth 2:2 call Ruth? To whom does she speak? What does she ask? What does Naomi answer? Where did Ruth go to do what (Ruth 2:3)? To whose part of the field did she come? What does verse 3 tell us for the second time? Who arrived in Ruth 2:4? From where? How does he great his reapers? How do they greet him? To whom does Boaz speak in Ruth 2:5? What does he ask? How does the supervisor identify Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:6? What does he report Ruth to have asked (Ruth 2:7)? What does he report about Ruth’s activity that day?

Ruth 2:3 says, “She happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.” The Hebrew literally says, “it happened by chance.” But the point of the text is actually the opposite! Although Ruth did not know or intend to go to Boaz’s field specifically, God has providentially directed her there.

But the sovereignty of God has been directing much more than field-gleaning locations. Here is a Moabitess who submits respectfully to her dead husband’s mother, who isn’t too proud to take the role the law assigned to the very poor, and who isn’t afraid of hard work. We know where her character came from, because in Ruth 1:17 we heard her say “Yahweh do so to me and more also.”

And here is a man who, even though he is an Israelite, lives in the time of the judges, when there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. And what’s the first thing we hear from his lips? “Yahweh be with you!”

He is a wealthy man, but has come to the field himself for reaping. And he is a godly man, who blesses in the covenant name of God. He has also hired godly men, who return to him also a blessing in the name of Yahweh.

Even if we had not read the book many times before, we might already be thinking, “this is a match made in heaven!” And so it is. “And it happened by chance” that she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.”

The chief reaper seems to think so too—or at least understand that his boss might be thinking so. Boaz only asks, “to whom does the young woman belong”? But the reaper not only identifies her as that amazing Moabitess who has the entire town astir with her kindness to her mother-in-law (cf. Ruth 1:19), but he is careful to note also her respectfulness and industriousness (Ruth 2:7).

God knows what He is doing, and it is when we don’t that it is especially important for us to remember this!

What is an example from your life, when you were clueless, but God was working perfectly?

Suggested Songs: ARP183 “Under His Wings” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

2019.11.20 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 1:18-22

Read Ruth 1:18-22

Questions from the Scripture text: What does Naomi see about Ruth in Ruth 1:18? What does she stop doing? What do the two of them do now (Ruth 1:19)? How far do they go? How much of the city was excited? Why? What do the women ask? What does Naomi tell them not to do in Ruth 1:20? What does she tell them to call her? Why? What is her memory of the condition in which they had left (Ruth 1:21)? What is her evaluation of her current condition? How many times does she name the One whom she sees behind her misery in Ruth 1:20-21? In the summary in Ruth 1:22, what additional data do we learn about the timing of their arrival?

Believers need to keep the certainty of the gospel of Christ front and center, so that we will see that the Lord is determined to do us good. Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to do her good, and so she went along with it. If only she was able to see the same with respect to the Lord!

Instead, she has opposite-vision. She says, “I went out full.” Did she really? Her family were fleeing starvation when she went out. Things were so bad that they were going to go live among the idolatrous Moabites! When we do not see God’s perfect and constant goodness through the lens of the gospel of Christ, how easily we can re-paint the past in beautiful colors by comparison to the present against which we grumble.

And she says, “Yahweh has brought me home again empty.” Does she not have that same Lord about whom Ruth has learned from her? Is He not more to her than all others, as Ruth has learned that He is unto her? And, she has this believing and devoted daughter who is not only a source of earthly help, but is that kind of believing companion who is a great help to the soul.

Sadly, this failure to be sure of the goodness of the Lord that has promised the Savior turns Naomi’s good theology to her spiritual disadvantage. The very fact that she knows that God has ordained her trials is now reason (in her eyes) to decide that God is against her. “The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me […] Yahweh has brought me home again empty […] Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.”

She is correct about who has ordained her circumstances, but because she is not holding onto Him with the certainty that He is constantly and eternally good to her in the promised Christ, she is employing this theology backwards. She ought to have been judging her circumstances by the certainty of God’s purposes toward her, but she is instead judging God’s purposes toward her by what she thinks of her circumstances.

Now, before we think too harshly of Naomi, let us admit that we do the same ourselves, and it is much more inexcusable. For, we do not have a prospective promise of Christ (which did, genuinely, leave her without excuse). No, we have the finished work of Christ. We have the knowledge that it was the beloved Son who was given for us. We have the certainty that He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all is, together with Him, freely giving us all things (Romans 8:32). This certainty about God’s intentions to us in Christ must govern how we see our circumstances; let us never allow our perception of the circumstances shape what we think of God’s intentions toward us!

Is the cross of Christ your great peace and assurance? If so, What current/past difficult circumstances in your life does the cross assure you are for your good?

Suggested Songs: ARP183 “Under His Wings” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

2019.11.13 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 1:14-17

Read Ruth 1:14-17

Questions from the Scripture text: What did the women do at the beginning of Ruth 1:14? What did Orpah do? What did Ruth do? To whom does Naomi tell Ruth that Orpah has returned (Ruth 1:15)? What does Naomi tell Ruth to do? What does Ruth tell Naomi not to do (Ruth 1:16)? Where does Ruth say that she will go? Where does Ruth say that she will lodge? Whom does Ruth say will be her people? Whom does Ruth say will be her God? Where does Ruth say she will die (Ruth 1:17)? What else does she say will be done to her there? Upon Whom does she call to enforce this promise? What does she insist will be the only thing that can separate them? 

Perhaps the most amazing part of Ruth’s famous declaration is at the end of Ruth 1:17, “Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if (even!) death parts you and me.”

There are many parts to what Ruth says. Certainly, she is rejecting the “Orpah option” that Naomi urged her to take. “Do not set upon me to forsake you,” Ruth responds in Ruth 1:16. Orpah had shown respect and affection to Naomi, but it was too much for her to give up her people and her gods.

For Ruth, however, everything is under the control of the one true God—even death, and the enforcing of oath promises.

So, yes, she is promising to share Naomi’s presence (wherever she goes), and Naomi’s plight (wherever she may end up spending a night), and her people (not just generally, but specifically—whatever indigent class she ends up in).

But, there’s much more than that. For Ruth, there’s God, and there’s eternity. Remember that their ages have been a big deal so far in this passage. Surely, the expectation is that Naomi will die first. And what will Ruth do then? She will continue trusting in the God whose blessing goes beyond death. She will rest in a grave alongside Naomi, who trusts in this God.

Not even death will separate them (note that the “anything but” is in italics in your English translation; the Hebrew reads, “So let Yahweh do to me, and so let Him do again, if death separates between me and between you”).

For the one who trusts that death is not the end—that for believers in Yahweh, the grave is a resting place until the resurrection—sticking to the Lord with His people is worth every possible earthly loss or hardship.

Ruth has come to believe that Yahweh hears what she says and carries out justice on earth. This Yahweh has appointed her to be a daughter unto Naomi, and the fifth commandment requires her to stick to her. This Yahweh has promised that a Seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head, and death will not win.

If Jesus has taken away her condemnation, then even death can’t cause her separation from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Or from others who have this same faith. Do you believe this?

What hardship might you have to suffer to stick to Christ and His people? Why is it worth it?

Suggested Songs: ARP46 “God Is Our Refuge” or TPH405 “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord”

2019.11.06 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 1:6-13

Read Ruth 1:6-13

Questions from the Scripture text: With whom did Naomi arise in Ruth 1:6? Where was she going? Why? Where were they going in Ruth 1:7? What does she tell them to do in Ruth 1:8? Whose covenant love does she pray for them? To whom does she recognize them as having been faithfully loving? What does she pray Yahweh to grant them in Ruth 1:9? Where does she pray for them to find rest? What do they do at the end of verse 9? What do they say in Ruth 1:10? What does Naomi tell them to do in Ruth 1:11? What reasoning does she give in Ruth 1:11-13? What does she say has happened to her in Ruth 1:13? For whose sake has this grieved her very much? 

Sometimes faith has difficulty resting in the goodness of the Lord in whom it trusts. We often make much of Ruth’s determination to take Naomi’s God as her God, and we will consider this again in the next passage.

But notice that Naomi is also highly prizing having God as her God. If she were willing to accept Moab’s idol-gods, she could remain with her daughters-in-law and their families and have at least some connections to care for her. But, ultimately, Naomi knows that this is in God’s hand.

It is a statement of faith in God’s sovereign providence that she thought of the economic recovery in Ruth 1:6 as “Yahweh had visited His people.” It is a statement of faith in God’s sovereign providence that she says in Ruth 1:8, “Yahweh deal khessed-ly (according to steadfast love) with you” and in Ruth 1:9, “Yahweh grant that you may find rest.” It is even a statement of faith in God’s sovereign providence that she says that “the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me” in Ruth 1:13!

But, I wonder if your faith in the Lord sometimes produces mixed results due to a too-large view of the difficulties of your circumstances. The bulk of this passage is spent on Naomi’s statements. And the bulk of those statements is spent on the impossibility of husbands being found again in Naomi’s womb (Ruth 1:11-13).

Naomi has forgotten that the Lord always does His people the best good, even through the hardest promises. To be fair, at this point she is still saying that it grieves her for her daughters’ sakes that Yahweh has done this. But, shouldn’t she be pointing them to Him who always does good? What good is a husband without the one true God?

The book of Ruth is about the Lord’s turning Naomi’s bitterness sweet, as He weaves her into the line from which our Lord Jesus comes.  And as He does so, He demonstrates patience with real faith that is still really imperfect—faith like each of ours!

What situation has you discouraged? What can you be certain the Lord is doing in it?

Suggested Songs: ARP46 “God Is Our Refuge” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

2019.10.30 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ruth 1:1-5

Read Ruth 1:1-5

Questions from the Scripture text: In what days does this take place (Ruth 1:1)? What happened in the land? From what tribe does the man go out? Where does he go to dwell? Whom does he take with him? What was the man’s name (Ruth 1:2)? What was his wife’s name? What were his sons’ names? What was another name for Bethlehem (cf. Genesis 35:19)? What is repeated for a second time at the end of verse 2? What happens to Elimelech in Ruth 1:3? What happens to Naomi? To whom else does this happen? From among whom do Mahlon and Chilion take wives (Ruth 1:4)? What were the wives’ names? How long did they dwell there? What happens to the sons in Ruth 1:5? By whom now has she been “left”?

Naomi’s name means “pleasant,” but the opening verses of Ruth present to us a bitterness (“Mara”) upon which much grace must be poured before she is “Naomi” again.

Political bitterness. Judges 21:25 tells us that these were the days when “there was no king in Israel,” and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This was a time of division among a people, who ought to have been an example to the world of covenant unity.

Spiritual bitterness. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” isn’t just disunity from one another. It’s rebellion against God, who was their King, and by whose law ought to have determined “what was right” rather than their eyes. Ironically, Elimelech’s name means “My God is King.”

Economic bitterness. There was a famine in the land. This one is related to the spiritual bitterness, because the fruitfulness of the land was a direct function of covenantal blessing and curse (Cf. many passages such as Deuteronomy 11:13-17).

Social bitterness. Naomi ended up with her husband in the land of Moab—arch enemies of Israel (cf. Judges 3:12-30) and of the Lord (cf. Numbers 21:29 and Numbers 25:1-3). Not only that, but her husband dies. Then, her sons marry Moabite women. Then her sons die. In Ruth 1:3, she and her two sons “were left.” The same verb concludes Ruth 1:5. The passage drives the message home: Naomi is being left by all that she holds dear.

What will the Lord bring out of bitterness? That’s the question that these five verses set up for the rest of the book to answer. For believers, whose lives will have much in them that is bitter, we will rejoice to know the answer!

What bitter circumstances do you have? What was the greatest bitterness ever experienced? What did God bring out of that? What do you already know must come out of every situation?

Suggested Songs: ARP30 “O Lord, I Will Exalt You” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”