Hope From Ruth: Recent Episodes
FisherMRI
It’s not surprising to seek hope from the Bible in hard times, but the book of Ruth in particular might be a surprising choice. Maybe you’re a woman who’s heard about it a dozen times on Mothers Day. Maybe you're a man who’s always seen it as mainly for women. Maybe you’ve always seen it as a guidebook for marriage and dating. Maybe you’ve never really considered it at all.
Wherever you’re coming from, you are likely to be surprised by what’s really in here. It’s the story of real people living in a terrible time, and it’s God’s way of showing us—not telling us--who he truly is.
Ruth makes her greatest act of Hesed, as Naomi experiences true fullness. Her “life-restorer” is born, setting the family on a path to restore the life of all God’s people forever.
God uses the people who spoke blessings on each of the story’s characters as the agents of those blessings, dramatically displaying just what kind of God he is.
If we lived during the time of Ruth, we would probably say the big question about this marriage is social: is Ruth, the poor foreigner, really worthy to marry Boaz, the wealthy and important member of this powerful clan? The question for us is not a social one, but a spiritual one. Is this Boaz fellow actually worthy to marry our Ruth?
Ruth pledges to act as Naomi’s servant in all that she asks: but she has her own agenda. While Naomi intends to provide for Ruth, Ruth is ready to sacrifice on behalf of someone else’s family. Boaz recognizes Ruth’s incredible sacrifice and responds, ready to do whatever it takes to accomplish redemption for the family of Elimelek.
In one of the most misunderstood passages in all the Bible, we look past the humans at the values God is communicating about himself behind it all. Naomi takes action to protect Ruth, her beloved daughter-in-law, and give her a shot at true happiness.
The newest character in the story burst on the scene, and the action slows way, way down. There are important things we need to see about this new character, but it's even more important that we listen to what he says.
The tension builds and the plot thickens. New characters are introduced, and they tantalize us with hope: but will the author leave us hanging?
God has visited his people—but will that mean anything for the hopeless, emptied Naomi? Naomi makes an accusation, and Ruth makes a vow. What will the answer be?
Ruth is an exciting story, and it all begins here in the first scene. How did our characters get into the mess they’re in, and how serious is their situation? Things are worse than they might appear at first glance; but missing the darkness means missing something important.
Like any good book, Ruth has themes, motifs, and layers to be explored. In this final introductory podcast we consider one or two. Now is the time to read through Ruth at least once before we get into the story itself! It doesn’t take long!
Context is essential, and we can’t understand what Ruth’s author wants us to know without the context of Judges. One of the first statements in Ruth is that the story takes place “during the time of the judges.” Judges helps us fully appreciate Ruth, and Ruth sheds light on the darkness of Judges.
Many of us feel we have a good handle on Ruth. It’s the rare Christian woman who hasn’t been taught Ruth many times in woman-only settings, yet it’s not always preached all that often in churches. Some men may even look at it as a book for women that isn’t really relevant to their lives.
Let me invite you to put aside preconceived notions about this book—and preconceived notions of what you expect hope to look like--and come take a look.