路得记

Meditative Reflection
God is in It

As lovely as the story of Ruth is, it began with a rather heart-wrenching story of migration with which many of us can identify. I have come across many immigrants who, after their immigration to a foreign land, came across huge challenges, having to adjust to the new environment, adapt to the new culture and face embarrassment or even discrimination. But some also lost their loved ones to sickness or accidents, and some ran into financial ruin, and some saw their marriage end into divorce. Under these circumstances, Christians and non-Christians alike cannot help but ask, “Have we made the wrong decision to immigrate?”

In the case of Naomi, her plight is seldom equaled. She lost not only her husband, but both of her sons. Although, the Bible does not mention that she asked the Lord “Why?”, I am quite sure that she did. After all, she was human. As a devout Jew, she also knew God’s hand was in it, except that she took it that God was against her (at least that is what she thought at the time. See 1:13.). Who can blame her?

Of course, we have the privilege of knowing the end of the story and have come to understand that if it was not for the famine, they would not have moved to Moab; if they had not moved to Moab, Ruth would not have married into their family; if the men in the family had not died, Ruth would not have moved with Naomi back to Bethlehem; and if Ruth had not moved to Bethlehem she would not have married Boaz and bore the child who would become one of the forefathers of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

In Naomi’s case, God’s hand was certainly in it, except that whatever God allowed to happen in her life had eventually brought about the accomplishment of His plan — the plan that culminates to the salvation of all mankind.

As the children of God, we can safely believe that all things that happen to us not only serve to work for our good (Rom. 8:28), but that there is also a kingdom’s ramification that perhaps will not be known until we see Christ if we would allow God to work through our tragedy, just as Naomi did.

Meditative Reflection
Do not Look for the Spectacular

The Book of Ruth is one of the Old Testament books that enters into the Canon with very little dispute. This is indeed a well-liked book of the Bible.

It is about ordinary people. There is no prophet, no king in the story. It is about an ordinary family of four — a husband who needed to make decisions for the family, a wife who supported the decision of her husband and two young adults (perhaps teenagers at the time) who go wherever the family goes, living in a very ordinary town. It is about two very ordinary girls, gentile girls that used to worship idols. It is about harvest, laborers who glean and meals associated with the harvest. Although he is a man of wealth, there really is nothing too unusual about Boaz. We can all identify with at least one of the characters in the story.

This is about challenges in life. The family faces an unexpected famine that interrupts their life. It is about a family that has to make tough decisions to emigrate (likely together with many other people in town). It is about death, despair and loneliness. It is about longing for one’s homeland, especially during one’s old age and loneliness.

It is about faith in the life of God’s people. Naomi, rightly or wrongly, attributes her plight and subsequent delivery to God. It is about two gentile girls who have to make a decision not so much of going to Israel, but of which God they would choose to worship and follow. It is about the unfolding of God’s plan in the lives of those who trust Him, ultimately contributing to the accomplishment of the greater plan of the kingdom.

However, unlike many other books of the Bible, there is an absence of audible voices of God; there is no visions, no miracles. Yet, God is there, God is in control and God is present in both famine and harvest, but most importantly, God is present in their daily life. This is what I really like about the Book of Ruth. We do not have to be prophets, we do not have to be spiritual supermen, and we do not have to have spectacular or mystical encounters with God. In the midst of not understanding the plans of God, we simply have to submit and trust God and His intention, and to extend the love of God to caring first for the well-being of others around us, thinking more of their needs than ours; in the process, we will encounter God and His goodness. More importantly, we will allow God’s greater purpose to be realized through our quiet obedience.

Meditative Reflection

The God of the Widows, the Fatherless and the Foreigners

In my years in the commercial field, there was one saying that we, in management, liked to emphasize at our sales meetings, and that was, “Do not leave any crackers on the table.” It was accepted as the gospel truth in business. Not only did I emphasize it,  but I practiced it in business. The maximization of the bottom line, almost at all costs, was seen not only as acceptable, but the only way to do business.

It was many years later, when I studied Christian Ethics in the seminary, that I came across the teachings in Leviticus 19:9-10, 23:22 and Deuteronomy 24:19-22. Well, I had read Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the past. I think I taught them in Sunday school as well, but I never really took notice before. You can imagine the shock I had when I “discovered” these teachings in the Bible. It was an even greater shock to read in the Book of Ruth that it was actually being practiced, of all people, by the Israelites, and of all times in history, during the time of the Judges.

Can you imagine it being practiced today by the farmers, growers of crops, especially for big corporations? If I were in management making a suggestion to “leave crackers on the table” for the poor and alien immigrants, I think I would not last long in the company.

As the Lord gives these commandments to the people of Israel, He emphasizes two things:

(1) I am the Lord your God:

(2) Remember that you were slaves in the Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

The first is not really a reason why the people of Israel should leave leftovers in the fields to the widow, the fatherless and the foreigner, but rather that they have no choice, because God says so! Therefore to violate this command of God will invite the same consequence as the violation of other commandments, and that is, they will invite the curse of God which would include famine and poor harvest. (Deut. 28)

The second one is a reason, and the reason is that they were once slaves in Egypt as foreigners, poor and marginalized. Since they have tasted such sufferings, they should have compassion for others who are now less fortunate than they are. To overlook their needs is not only a violation of God’s command, but to act less than someone who is created in God’s image.

I am aware of corporations that donate a small portion of their sales for charity, but some are really doing it for publicity purposes and their mission remains 100% for profit and profit only. But there are a growing number of Christian owners who have written into their mission statement a more biblical approach to doing business. Service Master is one of them. Allow me to quote part of their Mission Statement below:

To Honor God In All We Do
As the foundation of our company, we embrace this objective, believing in an absolute standard for right and wrong. It requires of us unwavering commitment to values and ethics. The objective particularly addresses how we treat people, who have all been created in the image and likeness of God, and it mandates inclusion and respect for all people.

To Grow Profitably
We see profit as a measure of our business performance. Profit is not an end, but a means of accomplishing our other objectives. Profitability enables us to fulfill our obligations to our shareholders and provides the means for people to work, to grow and to serve. Our challenge is to use profit wisely for the benefit of our people, our customers and our communities.

While it still does not reflect fully the commands of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, at least it does not put profit as the only mission and it does put honoring God and treating people as people created in God’s image as an important part of their existence.

Meditative Reflection
Kinsman-Redeemer

Naomi introduces Boaz as one of the kinsman-redeemers of their family to Ruth. While this term does not specify the exact relationship between the families of Boaz and Naomi, it confers upon him certain duties which include:

1. The re-purchase of the property once sold by his clan member because of poverty; (Lev. 25)
2. The redemption of the clan member himself out of slavery when he sold himself because of poverty; (Lev. 25)

It is interesting to note that throughout the Old Testament, when God’s deliverance of His people is mentioned, the term redemption is always used. This term naturally assumes two things: (1) a reclaim of ownership, and (2) the payment of a ransom. Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer, is clearly a type of Jesus Christ as he does not only redeem the property of the family, he also marries the widow of the deceased clan member.

Even before the events in chapter four, Boaz has already demonstrated an act of redemption by inviting Ruth to his table. If in the Apostolic time, Jews are not supposed to have any association with Gentiles, how much more so would it be in Boaz’s time. Therefore, Boaz’s invitation of a Moabite woman to feast with him in public carries significant symbolic meaning, in that Christ, our Redeemer, is inviting all peoples, not just the people of Israel, to His banqueting table. Boaz may not be aware of such significance, but his action speaks volumes of what kind of a person he is — a person who embraces all races and genders — which certainly qualifies him to be a type of Christ.

Meditative Reflection
Model of Integrity (I)

I am a little troubled by scholars who go to extra length to insinuate that what happened on the threshing floor between Boaz and Ruth was sexual.

First of all, the text (of chapter 3) never mentions anything sexual, not explicitly at least.

If anything sexual did take place, how could Boaz still defer the marrying of Ruth as her kinsman-redeemer to another closer relative? This would certainly not be acceptable whether according to cultural decency or the Law of Moses.

In fact, the deferring of his right both to redeem the property and to marry Ruth shows great integrity on the part of Boaz. It is more than obvious that Boaz greatly esteems Ruth as noble woman, worthy of his marriage. With Ruth taking the initiation, it would be his honor and dream to marry her. But he puts doing the right thing before the satisfaction of his own desire. In a sense, he puts the entire matter into the hands of God. His action reminds me of the famous poem (in fact a prayer) by Khalil Gibran:

O Love, whose lordly hand

has bridled my desire

And raised my hunger and my thirst

To dignity and pride

Let not the strong in me and the Constant

Eat the bread and drink the wine

That tempt my weaker self.

Let me rather starve,

And let my heart parch with thirst

And let me die and perish

Ere I stretch my hand

To a cup you did not fill

Or a bowl you did not bless!

Meditative Reflection
Model of Integrity (II)

It is true that the first kinsman-redeemer in Ruth 4 had his eyes set on financial gains, i.e. what he could get out of redeeming the property of Elimelech. It was more than a good deal for him, because he could also appear to be fulfilling his duty as kinsman-redeemer. By buying the property from Naomi, the property will go under his name as the closest relative to the Elimelech family, thereby retaining the name of Elimelech “in name”. But he would derive income from the property and would be able to pass it on to his descendants, as there were no one to pass on in Elimelech’s own line.

However, if he had to take the widow as well, “Ruth would become his wife and the property would only be his temporal possession pending the birth of an heir to inherit” (Hubbard Jr.). This would become a “lose-lose” transaction.

The question then is why would Boaz be willing to do what this kinsman-redeemer refused to do? Was it because of love? Well, perhaps love did play a part. But the risk remained the same for both men. We are not told if Boaz already had his own children which would be very likely, but his main motive was to honor his kinsman-redeemer’s duty as he should. The rest was not important, even if it meant passing on the right to the property to the son to be born of Ruth. This son to be born of Ruth would carry Elimelech’s name. To Boaz, name was not important; it was obvious that he would treat this son as his own.

As it turned out, Obed was born of Ruth, and yet God appears to have overridden human traditions and chose Obed to bear the name of Boaz and became the forefather of the Messiah.

Meditative Reflection
Salvation History

As we draw our study of the Book of Ruth to a close, I have come to be reminded of some very basic, yet important lessons. They include:

1. God cares about ordinary people like you and me. He cares, as He repeatedly reminds us in the Old Testament that He is the God of the foreigner, the widow and the fatherless.
2. Faith in Yahweh carries huge blessings, even temporal rewards as we see in the life of Ruth, who made a conscious decision to adopt the God of her mother-in-law as her God.
3. No good work goes unrewarded in the Lord. Yes, we do not earn salvation through good work, but God is fair, He will not let any good work go unrewarded. God rewards the compassion and integrity of Boaz in ways far beyond those he would ever dream of — he plays a part in the genealogy of the Messiah. What an honor!
4. Finally, it reminds me that the personal history of each of God’s children is wrapped around His story — the salvation story of our Lord Jesus Christ. We certainly do not play a part in the genealogy that leads to the birth of Christ, but we all have been drafted into the continuation of this new, heavenly genealogy augmented by our Lord Jesus Christ.