As we leave the book of Judges and wade into the book of Ruth, which effectively gives us a bridge to David because Ruth is his great-grandmother, we bear in mind the kaleidoscopic montage of exile and exodus---the ongoing theme of subjection and rescue from foreign oppression---that has been the theme of the Word of God from Abraham onward. We also need to take stock of where we began our traversing of this great path, which was the prophecy of the thirtieth chapter of Jeremiah. There, God spoke through His human mouthpiece and assured His people that “I will rescue you from foreign subjugation” and “I will deliver you from captivity” (30:8b), while adding that His people Israel “will be subject to the Lord their God” alone, “and to the Davidic ruler Whom I will raise up as King over them” (30:9). The promise is magnified in the following verses as we read, “I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, My servants. Do not be terrified, people of Israel. For I will rescue you and your descendants from a faraway land where you are captives. The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace. They will be secure and no one will terrify them. For I, the Lord, affirm that I will be with you and will rescue you” (30:10-11a).
As we read those magnificent verses and attempt to absorb the impact of the promises therein contained, in light of the history of the nation of Israel following its return from the Babylonian captivity that was Jeremiah’s primary subject matter, we are repeatedly struck with the realization that these promises to Israel have gone unfulfilled. Therefore, we must, with all seriousness, attempt to understand the wider scope of their application, and, rather than simply assert that God is obviously talking about the renewed Israel that constitute the people of God in Christ and leave it at that, it is incumbent upon us to locate the promises and their expected fulfillment within the larger narrative of Scripture, so that we might understand God’s and our mission for and in this world. We are doing this through the hermeneutical supposition of exile and exodus, as we re-trace the steps of God through history by detailing His use of these things in relation to His people as a whole, along with individual experiences related to the subject, all of which serve as a pointer to the faithful fulfillment of the promises found in Jeremiah, as God maintains His righteousness (covenant faithfulness).
So, looking into Ruth, what is it that we immediately find? In the first verse we read “During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons” (1:1). Amazingly, and almost as if we have hit upon another important theme of Scripture, famine is once again present. We have seen this with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob, and with Joseph. The man in question here in Ruth, whose name was Elimelech, now stands in good company, walking the familiar path that has been previously trod by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Elimelech, like these men, has voluntarily removed himself from the land of God’s promise. He is now in a self-imposed exile. We should note that the Scripture offers no commentary on his departure from the promised land, but simply presents it as a matter of fact.
While in this state of exile from the land that represents God’s faithful promises to His people, Elimelech died. His death left his wife (Naomi) and two sons (Mahlon and Kilion) alone. Rather than return to the land of Judah, “her sons married Moabite women (Orpah and Ruth). And they continued to live there about ten years” (1:4). Here, we have echoes of Jacob’s first departure from his father’s house, coming on the heels of what he believed to be his father’s impending death (because of Isaac’s insistence on blessing Esau before he died), as we know that when Jacob was in the first of his exiles, in Haran, two women were married and there was an extended dwelling away from the land of promise. For Naomi, the pain of exile would grow, as her two sons went the way of their father, dying there in the land of Moab. With this, she is described as being “bereaved of her two children as well as her husband” (1:5b).
It was within this bereavement, that Naomi “decided to return home from the region of Moab, accompanied by her daughters-in-law” (1:6a). She decided to make this return journey “because while she was living in Moab she had heard that the Lord had shown concern for His people, reversing the famine by providing abundant crops” (1:6b). This statement reminds us of the opening statement of the book, and the famine mentioned therein “during the time of the judges.” Why would there have been a famine in Judah? Well, if we believe in a God that is faithful to His promises (according to Deuteronomy), and if we believe in the record of the book of Judges, the famine is a curse related to Israel’s idolatry (doing evil in the sight of the Lord). Famine points us to exile, while also informing us that Elimelech’s flight to Moab was most likely undertaken during one of the periods of subjugation to foreign power. The reversal of this famine, in turn, points us to another instance of exodus, as God has raised up a judge to deliver His people, rescuing them from the regime of oppression, and giving their land back to them, as they have turned from idolatry to God. The exile and exodus spoken to by the famine and the reversal of the famine stands in parallel to the exile and exodus that is being experienced by Naomi.
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