Ruth and Law

We are finished reading Isaiah at Morning Prayer and have started Ruth. They are different kinds of literature. Isaiah preaches a word directly to people from God. He often repeats that God is God and God alone. He spells out how God is at work in the world and what His plans are. There is not much biographical information at all. Ruth, on the other hand, is a short story. God is quietly behind the scenes through it all.

[I have often thought that the book was misnamed. Sort of like the Prodigal Son is really about the Older Brother (that is who Jesus was aiming it at), or better the Loving Father (that is what Jesus is revealing to both kinds of brothers), Ruth it seems is really about the mother in law Naomi. At the end of the story, Ruth gives birth to a child. 4:14 "and the women said to Naomi .." and 4:17 "and the women neighbors gave him a name, saying, 'a son is born to Naomi!' Seems like Naomi is the focus.

In chapter 2 Ruth and Naomi have arrived back in Bethlehem (House of Bread). Naomi has lost her husband and two sons. She bid her daughters-in-law to remain in Moab, Orpah did, but Ruth renounced her god and people and clung to Naomi and followed her. Upon her return, Naomi tells her kinsfolk not to call her Naomi (which means pleasant) but Mara (bitter). It is a sad story. They also mention over and over that Ruth is a Moabite. Over and over.

They arrive during the barley harvest (which is Passover time) and Naomi sends Ruth to the fields of Boaz (her kinsman) to glean and gather grain. Sunday we read that the harvester was not to harvest all the grain but to leave some for the poor to gather. How neat to see this a few days later with Leviticus fresh in my mind. This Law of God is the mercy which gives Ruth sustenance. She is a foreign woman and numbered among the poor, widows and outsiders (she hits a triple), The Law of God is the instrument of mercy and kindness. In this case, the Law gives life!

Laws can do that, they can spell out the parameters for kingdom living. At story's end we learn that the line from Ruth produces King David. It is possible to say that David owes his life to Leviticus 19:9. Unlike Isaiah, the Ruth story does not spell out what we are to know, what we are to understand. Rather, it invites us in. It is a simple story but a deep narrative. We encounter God here, too, but it takes some digging and thinking. It also reminds us of the importance of God's Law (Instruction) for determining how we live our lives and dispose of our possessions. Last of all it illustrates the law of cause and effect, and the unknown consequences of every act.