Epic Bible Study: The Romance of Ruth

[cinder]

GIS- please can we use a modern Bible translation. I feel like I'm back deciphering Shakespeare.

Still not seeing any romance in chapter 2. I'm seeing that Boaz is most likely a good man (though possibly being family he feels a little responsibility or guilt over the care of Naomi's family) who wants to make things easier for an admirable woman who has risked everything to care for her foreign (to Ruth at least) mother in law. Only comment I'll make is something that is brought up in Francine Rivers novella about Ruth: that Boaz may have been more sensitive to the plight of a foreigner in the land since his mother was Rahab who was also a foreigner.

 

[GodIsSalvation]

On point of translations, well if you feel like you're reading Shakespeare then I'd say we're on the right track indeed lol. Sorry but we will be using KJV since it is both the most trustworthy english translation and the style conveys the message much better and without ambiguity since the meaning of the older words are now set in stone.

Now to analyze the romance in Chapter 2.

Firstly, I liked your point about how Boaz's mom is Rahab. Yes indeed perhaps this is part of the reason Boaz felt an affinity for Ruth, though this is not stated.

I think right here what we have is a case of infatuation at first sight. We see Boaz is out inspecting his field and workers, and greeting them all. However we also see he notices one damsel. He asks his worker "who is this damsel?" Seems to me Boaz took a liking to Ruth before even realizing this is the Moabitess that came back with Naomi.

We then see Boaz wants to keep Ruth around in his field with his work maidens in particular. He even gives her permission to drink from the vessels of the young men at her pleasure and charges no man to touch or rebuke her in any means. Ruth herself even seems a little surprised at this asking why she found grace in Boaz's eyes, which is where he explains he admires her for leaving her land and parents behind in Moab. I think this part ties in well to your comment about maybe Boaz felt some sort of connection to Ruth due to his own mother.

Boaz also invites Ruth to come eat with him, which may seem casual to today's society, but you have to remember for that time for a woman whom is both a foreigner and simply a field worker, that's a pretty big honor. Especially for the first time meeting.

And then afterwards we have Naomi asking Ruth about her day and Ruth telling her where she has gleaned and for whom she gleaned. Here we see Naomi is quite happy about this and all ready has set her mind to flinging these two famous lovers together. But we'll save that a bit more for next chapter.

This chapter makes me think Boaz certainly liked Ruth, though it's hard to tell if Ruth reciprocated those feelings. Perhaps both were kinda shy. Just Boaz's subtle approach and admiring Ruth from a distance and secretly ordering his servants to let Ruth do pretty much whatever she wants strikes me as fairly romantic. Also how Ruth is either oblivious to Boaz's flirting and manuevering also is quite befitting of just about any romance or romantic comedy of today lol. Luckily for all of us Naomi seems to have understood.

 

[GodIsSalvation]

Well I suppose we have covered chapter 2 well enough. Maybe with chapter 3 even sister cinder will agree to seeing a little bit of romance in this Romance. On with the story! (Ruth 3).

Naomi's Advice

1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
[SUP]2 [/SUP]And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
[SUP]3 [/SUP]Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
[SUP]4 [/SUP]And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
[SUP]6 [/SUP]And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.


Boaz's Night Surprise

[SUP]7 [/SUP]And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
[SUP]10 [/SUP]And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
[SUP]11 [/SUP]And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
[SUP]12 [/SUP]And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
[SUP]13 [/SUP]Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.


Ruth And Naomi Next Morning


[SUP]14 [/SUP]And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
[SUP]15 [/SUP]Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.
[SUP]16 [/SUP]And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
[SUP]17 [/SUP]And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
[SUP]18 [/SUP]Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

 

[GodIsSalvation]

Well I suppose we shall conclude our story. As typical for when I finish the Epic Bible Studies I leave it open for any final discussions and also if anyone wants to suggest a Bible figue for subject of next Epic Bible Study topic which I'll make in a few days or weeks then feel free to make suggestions as well.

Since no one commentated on Chapter 3 here's a little bit of my thoughts on that chapter and chapter 4. Firstly we see Naomi give Ruth advice for wooing Boaz. Her advice is go to his party but to not pay much attention to him at the party, then at night to sleep at his feet. Ruth does so and when Boaz wakes up scared in the middle of the night his fear quickly turns to surprise seeing that pretty Moabite girl at his feet. I think right here Boaz fell in love with Ruth myself, as we see he promises he will marry her, but being an honorable man and knowing that another man has Right of succession to her hand in marriage he has to go fix out the legalistic problems first by negotiating with the elders and the next of kin to Naomi's husband. Ruth returns home to Naomi telling her what has happened and the two patiently await as we await to see what Boaz shall do.

Come let us see with Naomi and Ruth how the Romance of Ruth shall end and how the Lord blesses this couple! (Ruth 4)

Boaz Consults The Elders



4 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
[SUP]2 [/SUP]And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
[SUP]3 [/SUP]And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:
[SUP]4 [/SUP]And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
[SUP]6 [/SUP]And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.
[SUP]7 [/SUP]Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.
[SUP]10 [/SUP]Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
[SUP]11 [/SUP]And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
[SUP]12 [/SUP]And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.


Ruth and Boaz Married

[SUP]13 [/SUP]So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.
[SUP]14 [/SUP]And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
[SUP]15 [/SUP]And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
[SUP]16 [/SUP]And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
[SUP]17 [/SUP]And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.


Epilogue

[SUP]18 [/SUP]Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,
[SUP]19 [/SUP]And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
[SUP]20 [/SUP]And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
[SUP]21 [/SUP]And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
[SUP]22 [/SUP]And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

 

[cinder]

Ruth does so and when Boaz wakes up scared in the middle of the night his fear quickly turns to surprise seeing that pretty Moabite girl at his feet. I think right here Boaz fell in love with Ruth myself, as we see he promises he will marry her, but being an honorable man and knowing that another man has Right of succession to her hand in marriage he has to go fix out the legalistic problems first by negotiating with the elders and the next of kin to Naomi's husband. Ruth returns home to Naomi telling her what has happened and the two patiently await as we await to see what Boaz shall do.

I doubt I will ever get you to agree that there could be other reasons for people to marry besides romance, but in a last ditch effort to get that idea through your head here are a couple quotes, quoted in one of my favorite books Singles at the Crossroads

The idea of romantic love itself should be recognized as a late, rare, and morally dubious product of Western Society which in many cases does more to destroy marriages than to preserve them.

It is only since the Middle Ages that romantic love has been prized as an ideal, the sine qua non for marriage and the fully vital human life. Marriage in history has more typically been arranged between families than chosen merely by a man and woman "in love". In fact, in most of Western history the sweeping intensity, confusion and absorption of what we have come to know as romantic love was considered a misfortune.

That's all I have to say. Other than the going to the threshing floor was most likely something a decent woman would never do since Boaz makes sure to get Ruth out of there before anyone could recognize her and warns her not to tell anyone she was there. And also as I have pointed out before, nowhere in the text does it say that Boaz loved Ruth or vice a versa. In fact the whole story focuses much more about the graciousness of God in making sure Naomi's family continued and Naomi and Ruth were taken care of after being widowed than falling in love.

 

[GodIsSalvation]

Eh I think the modern distortion of the notion of romance is flawed. So I suppose we shall disagree on final commentary lol, but I liked having your opinion nonetheless and be keen to wonder if you had any suggestions for another actual Bible study for Bible study forum lol.

Romance is a story of love, and in so many ways that love is shown throughout the story. Even the presence of God's love. Must you need the actual word love used in the text to see that? All of man's various concepts of the word love are shown in here from love for strangers, love for family, love of the community, love between spouses, and love of God, and also God's love for his people.

Thus when I read the whole story from beginning to end I must call it a true Romance and story about Love, one of the most greatest and memorable in all history to boot.

My final commentary on Book of Ruth is observe this: The story starts off with three widows in despair and tears. God wipes away their tears for all time! Through love Jesus came into the world fulfilling all prophecy. What more love is this?

 

[RedTent]

I don’t think we are given the book of Ruth to teach us about romance at all, but to teach us about how we, as gentiles are to accept Christ as our Savior.

If this book is given us as a romance, it is a May-December romance, for in 2:8 he addresses Ruth as his daughter.Rth 2:8Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen, my daughter. Don't go and gather grain in another field, and don't leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants.

Ruth gave six promises to Naomi that we need to study as examples of our becoming Christ’s.Ruth seals these promises with a vow. First is that where Naomi goes, Ruth will go. Second is that wherever Ruth stays (lives) she will stay. Third, Naomi’s people will become Ruth’s people. Fourth, Naomi’s God will become Ruth’s God. Fifth, where Naomi dies Ruth will die and finally wherever Naomi chooses to be buried Ruth desires to be buried alongside her.

A people and their god are connected whether we like it or not, whether we will admit it or not.The people our bible speaks mostly of are the Israelites.We read what Paul has to say about this in Romans as he speaks of being grafted in so we are one people.

When Ruth came to Israel with Naomi she willingly left her gentile ways behind and went forward eyes-wide-open into a new reality of which she had little knowledge. The Church has brought its gentile ways along with us, has no interest in knowing or learning the ways of God’s people, and has even taken the extreme position that as gentiles we are more God’s people than are Moses’ Israelites!

Can you imagine Ruth following Naomi into Bethlehem, insisting she wants Israel’s God, and then coming with the attitude that her Moabite ways are superior to the ways of God’s set-apart people; and in fact she has replaced them in God’s eyes? That, my friends, is the predominant position of the modern church towards Israel and the Jewish people and it is nothing less than a catastrophe.

We cancel Passover, the feasts, the Sabbath, and all Christ lived for us to follow.We excuse it by pointing to the Israel that does not follow Christ saying it is the reason we follow nothing, even of Christ’s ways.We insert our own ways of worship instead, even without the leading of the Lord, saying we now are the chosen ones. Our traditions of worship are taken from the pagans, not from scripture.We say that we changed the Sabbath because Christ rose on that day, but there is scripture saying it was discovered he rose on that day, but nothing saying it was the day Christ rose.

Next, we have the gentile, poor girl laying at the feet of the wealthy Jewish man and accepting the cloak of his protection.Isn’t that what Christ tells us to do?

 

[GodIsSalvation]

As alwways good analyses RedTent.

Though I'd say by my reckoning of Romance as a story about love, all those reasons moreso why this story overall is a romance. Ruth loved Naomi and her God and so did their communtiy and so did Boaz and clearly from the text Jesus loved all them. Perfect story of love all around indeed!