Another Alien

Judges 11-21; Psalms 42-44; Mark 4-8

Most days this week, we’ll be reading in the Book of Judges. It makes for dreary reading, with all the violence, immoral behavior, and faithlessness. Even the author seems to feel the same way. He ends the book with the words, “all the people did what was right in their own eyes” (21:25). But we will end the week on a brighter note. Tucked away in the period of the Judges of Israel is this little book named “Ruth.” It gives us a vignette of a small family living at the time.

At the beginning the story seems just as dismal as everything else in the time of the Judges. Due to a famine in Israel, a man from Bethlehem, Elimelech, moves his family to Moab where, presumably, there is food available. There’s an irony here. Elimelech’s name suggests a man of deep faith: “My God is king.” Plus, the meaning of the name of his town, Bethlehem, is “House of Bread.” So, here is a man whose very name should remind him of trust in God, living through a famine in a town whose very name suggests an abundance of food! This could only happen “when the judges ruled” inIsrael.

This is ironic, but it’s only the first of a number of ironies in the story. After Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, settle in Moab (which means, by the way, that he chose to leave the Promised Land), their two sons soon marry. Not long afterwards, all three of the men in the family die. Left alone, Naomi decides to return home. Here’s another irony: Naomi is in great pain and is bitter about her situation (1:20) – and who can blame her? – but one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, insists on returning with her. This foreign woman, it appears, has more faith in the God of Israel than did either Elimelech or Naomi.

Their timing is perfect. They arrive in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Once again, Bethlehem is a “house of bread.” Ruth ends up gathering grain in the fields belonging to one of Naomi’s relatives and, as the saying goes, the rest is history. After a few twists and turns, they are married. As I mentioned two weeks ago when we looked at Rahab in Jericho, both of these women end up in the genealogy leading to David the King. That’s another irony here. Elimelech left the Promised Land, but his daughter in law, because of her deep faith, ends up as one of the ancestors in Israel’s Messianic line.

Back in February, we read the command in Leviticus 19 to “love the alien as yourself.” One of the examples Leviticus gives of following this command is an admonition not to reap everything from your field or vineyard, but to leave some for the poor and the alien (19:9-10). This is exactly what Boaz does. Thus, the author of the Book of Ruth leaves us with some good news. Even in a period as dismal as the Judges, there are still good people and deep believers to be found…whether they are Israelites or aliens.