In this session we're going to look at some characters in the Bible who reflect God’s heart in this area so well. It's the story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz.
Naomi is a Hebrew widow, living as a foreigner in the land of Moab. She had two sons who also died, leaving her with two daughter in laws who were Moabites.
She decides to go back to Judah, but knows that if her two daughter in laws come with her, they will be foreigners in a strange land, away from their families and unlikely to be able to marry again. So she encourages them to stay in Moab and find new husbands.
One stays, but Ruth refuses to let Naomi return home on her own and declares, "where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay, your people will be my people and your God my God." Such a wonderful example of support for an older widow - I'm with you for the long haul, through thick and thin.
So both Ruth and Naomi return to Judah, where both are widows, and Ruth is also now a foreigner. Ruth continues her support of Naomi offering to go out to the fields and glean what the harvesters leave behind.
You may remember that in the last session I mentioned a verse in Deuteronomy which talks about the importance of providing for foreigners, the fatherless and widows: "When you are harvesting in your field, and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord Your God may bless you in all the work of your hands...."
Here in the story of Ruth we see that in practice.
Ruth gleams behind the harvesters, picking up the sheaves that they miss. The owner of the field is a man called Boaz. When he sees Ruth, he welcomes her, allows her to eat and drink with his workers, and even tells his workers to purposefully leave some extra sheaves of grain for her. What a wonderful reflection of God's heart this is - welcoming a foreigner, providing for widows.
But Boaz also does so much more, and to understand the next part of the story, we need to know a little bit about ancient Hebrew culture and law. There was no social welfare system in their time. When a woman's husband died she had little means of financial support as she didn't inherit the husband's estate, so often faced poverty. If she had a son she was better off, as the son (if old enough) could provide for her. It meant that widows were particularly vulnerable. So, there was a clause in the ancient Hebrew law that if a woman was widowed without a son, if her dead husband had a brother, the brother had a duty to marry her, and the first son she bore would continue the family line of her dead husband.
It seems odd to us in our culture but it was a way of ensuring that widows could be provided for where possible - given a new family and some security. The brother could refuse to marry the widow, in which case there was a public shaming of him in which the widow spat in face and took off one of his sandals. Weirdly, the brothers family line would then be known as 'The family of the Unsandeled". Apparently, sandals in ancient Jewish culture were used to legalise transactions!
For Ruth, there wasn't an option to marry a brother as both Naomi's sons had died. However, there was another Hebrew law that obligated family members to rescue members of their family who were in difficulty. Again, this golden thread in the law about looking after those who were vulnerable. The family member who rescued a relative in need was called a" kinsman- redeemer." And there was a similar principle about marrying them to provide an heir for the dead husband’s family line.
And as it turned out, in the story of Ruth and Naomi, Boaz, the owner of the field, was a relative and a kinsman redeemer, to Naomi. He wasn't the first in line, there was a closer relative who refused, and took off his sandal, signalling his unwillingness to meet his obligations.
So Boaz married Ruth, providing for both her and Naomi. He didn't have to, but he chose to. This was no small deal, bearing in mind that Ruth wasn't even Jewish. But Boaz embraced God's heart for the foreigner and the widow, reflecting it in his actions.
And here's what I love about this story. Ruth and Boaz have a son, who becomes the grandfather of King David. He's in the lineage of Jesus! God's promise of blessing fulfilled as Boaz defended the vulnerable in his community.
In our final session next time we’ll move into the New Testament and look at the life of Jesus. For now, here are some questions to discuss as we reflect on the story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz.
1. Have you ever been in a situation where someone stood by you through hardship, like Ruth did for Naomi? How did that impact you?
2. What does Ruth’s commitment to Naomi teach us about loyalty and compassion across generations?
3. What practical steps can we take to ensure that our churches and communities are welcoming and supportive to those on the margins?
4. Ruth was a foreigner and a widow, yet she became part of the lineage of Jesus. What does this tell us about God’s inclusivity and redemptive plan?
