The Roads of Ruth: Circumstances

Oh, the Book of Ruth! What a joy it is to read this book! I would say that it is one my favorite books in all the Bible. The book is an account of a young Moabitess who falls in love with her Kinsman Redeemer, who fell in love with her first (Ruth 2:4-23, 1 John 4:19)! It is a story of rejection, redemption, romance, and rivalry. If you haven’t read the Book of Ruth, I encourage you to do so and do so…. slowly! Over the years of reading and studying the book, one thing I have enjoyed is the many “roads” I can find in the book. So, today we are going to look at a SIMPLE overview of a FEW of the circumstances we find surrounding Ruth. There are so many, but we will look at three today.  This will not in any way replace or is to be compared to a deep study of the text by any means. However, I think many can relate to the circumstances that Ruth found herself. Let’s dive in and look at the text!

Circumstances! We all find ourselves in a place of circumstance. Some, brought on by our own decisions, others just facts that we stand in due to natural causes. We are first introduced to Ruth in chapter one as a woman from Moab who wed a man from Judah (Ruth 1:4). The LAND of Moab, now what a circumstance to find yourself. A LAND that was full of false gods and idol worship.  A place that God called his WASHPOT (Psalm 60:8)! A pot used to wash the dirt and vile from the world off your feet. What a place of despair to be reared! Many people today across the globe are born in the very same circumstance. They have no hope, unless the glorious light of the Gospel is brought to them. I can think about the good Grace of God, and how He let me be born in the south and was able to hear the Gospel even at a very young age. There is no place the Gospel is not needed and no wrong place for you and me to give it.  

The Bible gives us a look at the early part of her LIFE in chapter one as we see her wed to a man from Bethlehem-Judah (House of Bread). I would say without doubt that this circumstance that she found herself in would ultimately bring her out of the “washpot” to the “House of Bread”. Even though she didn’t know it at the time. Ruth had married into a family that knew God. The family was not perfect by any means and yes, she eventually suffered a lot of loss here. But what a lesson is learned from looking at the life of this family, particularly her mother-in-law Naomi. Another great lesson would be how we are affected by the type of people we surround ourselves with.  How important that it is to have a good testimony and to walk with God. The Bible is silent on any conversations that they had concerning God over this decade of time. But what we do know is that when Naomi was going back to Judah, Ruth wanted to have all things that Naomi would have. (Ruth 1:16). Can you see that small seed of faith, however misplaced in the person of Naomi it may be?

Lastly, we see the circumstances that lead Ruth to finding her LOVE. Her kinsman Redeemer, Boaz! In typology, he is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. We find Ruth in Chapter 2 and the tables have turned. She is now the foreigner in a strange land. But we find her arriving much different than the family of Naomi when they got to Moab. When Naomi left Judah, she left full (Ruth 1:21). We find Ruth arriving broke. Her husband is dead; she has no other family outside of Naomi.  She has left her people and her gods behind. One thing she had was a small amount of faith. It doesn’t take a large amount of faith; faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). We know she wanted the God of Naomi to be her God (Ruth 1:16). Could it be the combination of many stories that Naomi had told her about the Lord from her days when she lived in Bethlehem? We knew she was with Naomi when she heard that Lord had visited his people in giving them bread (Ruth 1:6). Is not that the same way we met our Kinsman Redeemer?  Do you remember feeling out of place and broken, oh but someone had shared the bread of life with you?  Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God, for by Grace are we saved through faith (Rom 10:17, Eph 2:8).  What a great place to find yourself. Broken and without hope, but you meet the one who meets all your needs even when we don’t deserve it! The one who allows us to glean from all that HE owns and even gives us some handfuls on purpose for you and I (Ruth2:8-16)! Thank God for His Grace and Mercy!  Let us lay at the feet of the Lord Jesus daily!

Written by: Pastor Jason Coffelt