|
My Prayer Box
Newsletter |
|
To subscribe to the newsletter, please follow this
link.
|
|
Towering Figures of the Old Testament |
|
|
|
The Story of Ruth |
|
|
|
Introduction |
|
Ruth is a Moabite
woman who married into the Israelites
through the influential Boaz of Bethlehem.
The book contains a beautiful example of
filial piety the demonstrates the
connection between Jesus and King
David. This story demonstrate the
divine reward for such piety even when
practiced even by a stranger. Ruth's piety
(Ruth 2:11), her spirit of self-sacrifice,
and her moral integrity were favored by
God with the gift of faith and an
illustrious marriage whereby she became
the ancestress of David and of Christ. In
this, the universality of the messianic
salvation is foreshadowed. |
|
|
|
Naomi
Loses Her Family
There is a famine in the land during the
time of the judges. Elimelech an
Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah departs
with his wife Naomi and their two sons,
Mahlon and Chilion, to live on the plateau
of Moab. Some time after they arrive on
the plateau of Moab Elimelech dies,
leaving Naomi with her two sons, who marry
Moabite women, one named Orpah, the other
Ruth. Then about ten years after they
arrive at the plateau of Moab both Mahlon
and Chilion also die. Naomi is now left
alone.
She then prepares to leave the plateau of
Moab because word reaches her there that
the LORD had visited his people and given
them food. She and her two daughters- |
 |
|
|
in-law leave the plateau of Moab. However, on
the road back to the land of Judah, Naomi
tells to her two daughters-in-law to go back
to their mother's house, praying that the LORD
grant each of them a husband and a home. She
kisses them good-bye, but they weep with loud
sobs, and tell her they will return with her
to her people. |
|
|
|
|
|
Naomi Returns To Bethlehem |
|
 |
Naomi implores for them to go back since she
does not see any future for them with her. She
wants to spare them from the bitter lot that she
thinks the LORD is giving her. Again they sob
aloud and weep; and Orpah kisses her
mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stays with her.
Naomi implores with Ruth to go back to her
people.
But Ruth tells Naomi that she will not abandon
nor forsake her. She promises that for wherever
Naomi goes she will go, wherever Naomi lodges
she will lodge, Naomi’s people shall be her
people, and Naomi’s God her God. Ruth promises
that wherever Naomi dies she will |
|
|
|
| |
|
die, and that death will have to separate her
from Naomi. Seeing her sincerity, Naomi then
ceases to urge her, for she sees she is
determined to go with her.
So
they go on together till they reach Bethlehem
from the plateau of Moab at the beginning of the
barley harvest. When they arrive the whole city
becomes aware that Naomi is back. The women ask
if she is Naomi, but she tells them not to call
her Naomi, but to call her Mara, for the
Almighty has made it very bitter for her. Naomi
tells them that she went away with abundance,
but the LORD has brought her back destitute. She
says that the LORD has pronounced against her
and the Almighty has brought evil upon her. |
 |
|
Ruth Meets Boaz |
 |
Naomi has a prominent kinsman named
Boaz, of the clan of her husband
Elimelech. Ruth asks permission from
Naomi so she can go and glean grain
leftover by the reapers in the field of
anyone who will let her. Naomi tells her
to go and Ruth entered a field to glean
after the harvesters, which happened to
belong to Boaz.
Boaz notices and asks the overseer who
she is. The overseer answers that she is
Ruth the Moabite girl who returned from
the plateau of Moab with Naomi. He
continues to say that she asked to
gather the gleanings into sheaves after
the
harvesters; and ever since she came this
morning she has remained here, with scarcely
a moment's rest. |
|
|
|
|
Boaz says to Ruth that she can stay in his
field to glean and for her not go to glean
in anyone else's field. Boaz also tells Ruth
that she can stay here with his women
servants. Boaz commands the young men to do
her no harm. He tells her that if she is
thirsty, she may go and drink from the
vessels the young men have filled.
Ruth casts herself prostrate upon the
ground and she asks him why she, a
foreigner, found favor with him. Boaz
answers that he knows she stayed with
her mother-in-law when her husband died,
and that she left her father |
 |
|
and her mother and
the land of her birth, and come to a people
whom she did not know.
Ever thankful, Ruth says that she will try
to prove worthy of his kindness, and she
tells him that he has comforted her, his
servant, with his consoling words. At
mealtime Boaz invites her to have some food
and dip her bread in the sauce. Then as she
sits near the reapers, he hands her some
roasted grain. She eats her fill and had
some left over.
Afterwards, she rises to glean, and Boaz
instructs his servants to let her glean
among the sheaves themselves without
scolding her, and even to let drop some
handfuls and leave them for her to glean
without being rebuked. She gleans in the
field until evening, and the grains from
which comes up to about a bushel of barley.
She takes this into the city and shows to
her mother-in-law. Next she brings out and
gives her what she had left over from lunch. |
|
|
|
|
Naomi's Plan |
 |
Ruth then tells Naomi what happened and
Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz is one of their
relatives. Naomi tells Ruth to follow Boaz’s
orders. She stays gleaning with the
servants of Boaz until the end of the barley
and wheat harvests.
When she goes back to her mother-in-law,
Naomi tells to Ruth that she will seek a
home for her. Naomi tells Ruth that this
evening Boaz will be winnowing barley at the
threshing floor. She then tells Ruth to
bathe and anoint herself; then to put on her
best attire and go down to the threshing
floor. She tells Ruth not make herself known
to the man before he has finished eating and
drinking. Confident of the virtue of Ruth
and Boaz, she tells Ruth to follow where he
lies down and |
|
uncover a place at his feet, and lie down
also. |
|
|
Ruth follows Naomi’s advice, goes down to
the threshing floor and does just as her
mother-in-law had instructed her. Ruth sees
Boaz eat and drink and then when he goes and
lays down at the edge of the sheaves, she
secretly follows, uncovers a place at his
feet and lays down. In the middle of the
night, however, the Boaz wakes to find a
woman lying at his feet.
Ruth tells him who she was and then asks him
to spread the corner of his cloak over her -
to be her protector by marrying her
according to the duty of a near kinsman, for
he is her next of kin. Boaz tells her that
she has been even more loyal now than before
in not going after the young men, whether
poor or rich. He tells her that his
townspeople know her as a worthy woman, but
there is another relative closer still.
Hebrew tradition dictates that next of kin
of a widow has a right and duty to marry
her.
He tells Ruth to stay for the night and if
that relative claims her, then that is good.
Otherwise Boaz will claim her for himself.
Just before morning, Boaz lets it known that
Ruth came to the threshing floor. He then
gives Ruth six measures of barley, helps her
lift the bundle, and she leaves for the
city.
When Ruth comes home to her mother-in-law,
she tells Naomi everything that happened and
shows her the six measures of barley. Naomi
tells her to wait until she learns what
happens, for Boaz will not rest, but will
settle the matter today. |
|
|
|
Boaz Claims Ruth |
|
Boaz goes and takes a seat at the gate
of the city where business affairs were
settled. With Boaz are ten of the elders
of the city that he picks out, whom he
asked to witness. When he sees the
closer relative of whom he mentioned to
Ruth, he calls him to sit beside him and
he does so.
Boaz then proceeds to tell the near
relative that Naomi, who has come back
from the Moabite plateau, is putting up
for sale the piece of land that belongs
to their kinsman Elimelech. Since the law
permits the nearest kinsman to redeem |
 |
|
the
land and thus preserve the family patrimony,
Boaz tells him that if the near relative
wishes he can put a claim to that land. If
he does not, Boaz will put a claim himself.
Boaz also tells him that once he acquires
the field from Naomi, he must also take Ruth
the Moabite, the widow of the late heir, and
raise up a family for her late husband on his
estate. The near relative tells Boaz that he
will not put a claim. Then he draws off his
sandal to make binding his pledge, which is
a customary form of attestation in Israel.
Boaz then declares to the elders and to all
the people with them as witnesses that today
he acquires from Naomi all the holdings of
Elimelech, Chilion and Mahlon. He also
declares that he takes Ruth the Moabite, the
widow of Mahlon, as his wife, in order to
raise up a family for her late husband on
his estate, so that the name of the departed
may not perish among his kinsmen and fellow
citizens.
|
|
The Descendants of David |
Boaz takes Ruth as his wife and she bears
him a son whom Naomi takes as her own. They
called the child Obed. He becomes the father of
Jesse, who will be the father of David.
These are the descendants of Perez: Perez
was the father of Hezron, Hezron was the
father of Ram, Ram was the father of
Amminadab, Amminadab was the father of
Nahshon, Nahshon was the father of Salmon,
Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the
father of Obed, Obed was the father of
Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David. |
|
|
|
|
| |
 To
read more of the Story of Ruth,
please go
to this link. |
| |
|
| |
|
Read more about this towering figure of the
Old Testament. |
|
| |
 |
Judges and Ruth (New Cambridge Bible Commentary)
by Victor H. Matthews Bringing to life the
world portrayed in the stories in Judges
and Ruth, this commentary offers readers
an "insider" perspective on the
narratives. After establishing a cultural
and literary context, Victor Matthews
analyzes each episode separately and as a
whole. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Sunday Readings |
|
|
|
February
25, 2007: The
First Sunday of Lent |
|
|
| |
First Reading From
Deuteronomy: |
|
| |
Dt 26:4-10 |
| |
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“The priest shall receive the basket from you
and shall set it in front of the altar of the
LORD, your God.
Then
you shall declare before the Lord, your God,
‘My father was a wandering Aramean
who went down to Egypt with a small household
and lived there as an alien.
But there he became a nation
great, strong, and numerous.
When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us,
imposing hard labor upon us,
we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers,
and he heard our cry
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our
oppression.
He brought us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and outstretched arm,
with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;
and bringing us into this country,
he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
Therefore, I have now brought you the first-fruits
of the products of the soil
which you, O LORD, have given me.’
And having set them before the Lord, your God,
you shall bow down in his presence. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Responsorial From the Book of
Psalms: |
| |
Ps
91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15 |
| |
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in
trouble.
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most
High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
say to the LORD, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in
trouble.
No evil shall befall you,
nor shall affliction come near your tent,
For to his angels he has given command about
you,
that they guard you in all your ways.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in
trouble.
Upon their hands they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the asp and the viper;
you shall trample down the lion and the
dragon.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in
trouble.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he
acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer
him;
I will be with him in distress;
I will deliver him and glorify him.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in
trouble. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Reading From
the Letter to the Romans: |
| |
Rm 10:8-13 |
| |
Brothers and sisters:
What does Scripture say?
The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart,
that is, the word of faith that we preach,
for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is
Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is
justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
For the Scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.” |
|
Notes: |
|
| |
To confess Jesus
as Lord was frequently quite hazardous in the
first century (cf Matthew 10:18; 1 Thes 2:2; 1
Peter 2:18-21; 3:14). For a Jew it could mean
disruption of normal familial and other social
relationships, including great economic
sacrifice. In the face of penalties imposed by
the secular world, Christians are assured that
no one who believes in Jesus will be put to
shame (Romans 10:11). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Gospel From the
Book
of Luke:
|
| |
Lk
4:1-13 |
| |
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from
the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for
forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread."
Jesus answered him,
"It is written, One does not live on bread alone."
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
"I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for
it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"It is written:
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve."
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and
said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to
guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the
test."
When
the devil had finished every temptation,
he departed from him for a time. |
|
Notes: |
|
|
There is no Old
Testament commandment demanding hatred of
one's enemy, but the "neighbor" of the love
commandment was understood as one's fellow
countryman. Both in the Old Testament (Psalm
139:19-22) and at Qumran (1QS 9:21) hatred of
evil persons is assumed to be right. Jesus
extends the love commandment to the enemy and
the persecutor. His disciples, as children of
God, must imitate the example of their Father,
who grants his gifts of sun and rain to both
the good and the bad. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Coming Soon! |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Comments and
Contributions are Most Welcome.
If
you have any comments or contributions, please
use the form in this link.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
