 Ruth 1 - 4 Questions and Answers |
| Q. What time in history does the Book of Ruth cover? | A. Ruth 1:1 = The time of the Judges |
| Q. Was the promised land in trouble? | A. Ruth 1:1 = Yes. There was a severe famine. |
| Q. What did Israelites do as a result? | A. Ruth 1:1 = One man, Elimelech, moved his wife and 2 sons to Moab to wait out the famine. His wife was Naomi. |
| Q. What were his sons' names? | A. Ruth 1:2 = Mahlon and Kilion. |
| Q. Where was Elimelech from? | A. Ruth 1:2 = Elimelech and Naomi were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. |
| Q. Did Elimelech die in Moab? | A. Ruth 1:3 = Yes. |
| Q. What happened to Elimelech's sons? | A. Ruth 1:4 = They married Moabite women. |
| Q. What were their names? | A. Ruth 1:4 = Orpah and Ruth. |
| Q. How long were they married? | A. Ruth 1:4 = Ten years. |
| Q. But they were widowed? | A. Ruth 1:5 = Yes. |
| Q. What made Naomi desire to return to Judah? | A. Ruth 1:6 = God had blessed the promised land of Israel with good crops again. |
| Q. Did Naomi release her widowed Moabite daughters-in-law? | A.Ruth 1:8 = Yes. Orpah left, but Ruth loved Naomi and her God and insisted on staying with her. |
| Q. Was Naomi a happy person? | A. Ruth 1:20 = No. She saw her life as having been forsaken by God. |
| Q. How did Ruth and Naomi live when they got home? | A. Ruth 2:2 = As poor people, gleaning the fields after the harvest. |
| Q. How did Ruth meet her future husband, Boaz? | A. Ruth 2:3 = She happened to be gleaning in his field. |
| Q. What made Boaz interested in Ruth? | A. Ruth 2:8 = Ruth's kindness toward her mother-in-law and having left her parents to be with her. |
| Q. Did Boaz treat this stranger in the land as Moses taught in the Book of the Law? | A. Ruth 2:12 = Yes. He blessed her. |
| Q. How did Boaz view foreigners in Israel? | A.Ruth 2:12 = As coming under the wings of God to take refuge. |
| Q. Was Ruth an exceptional worker? | A. Ruth 2:13 = No. Even so, Boaz made her work very easy by ordering his men to drop heads of barley from the bundles for her. |
| Q. Was Ruth able to feed Naomi too? | A. Ruth 2:18 = Yes. |
| Q. Was gleaning a safe job for a woman? | A. Ruth 2:22 = No. Boaz would protect Ruth by letting her work in his field through the entire harvest and also through the wheat harvest. |
| Q. Does God want women to feel secure? | A. Ruth 1:9 = Yes. Ruth 3:1 = Yes again! |
| Q. Was Boaz being obvious that he liked Ruth? | A. Ruth 2 = Yes. |
| Q. Is it in the bible that men are cranky before dinner? | A. Ruth 3:7 = Yes! |
| Q. Did Boaz expect to act as kinsman redeemer for Ruth? | A. Ruth 3:10 = No. He was much older and it was her choice to claim him. |
| Q. Did he accept the charge? | A.Ruth 3:11 = Yes, and gladly. Ruth was known in Judah as honorable (not sleeping around - v.10). |
| Q. Did Boaz grab her as his wife, or was he perfectly honest with her about a more qualified kinsman redeemer? | A. Ruth 3:12 = He told Ruth about the other younger, more qualifying kinsman redeemer in his tribe. He would go through proper procedure in making sure this closer relative released her first. |
| Q. How did Boaz proceed? | A. Ruth 4:1-4 = He presented Naomi's land as being for sale, but he had to marry the non-Israelite woman, Ruth, to buy it. |
| Q.This was within Benjamin territory and for sale only to Benjamites? | A. Yes. Boaz was next in line behind this other man in his right to buy it. |
| Q. Did this other Benjamite find the purchase of the land and marrying Ruth, the Moabite agreeable? | A. Ruth 4:6 = No. He was afraid of endangering his estate by having Ruth's dead husband's name impede on it through their children. |
| Q. What did he wish to do then? | A. Ruth 4:6 = Let Boaz buy the land and marry Ruth. |
| Q. Did the witnesses agree? | A. Ruth 4:11 = Yes. They blessed Ruth, that she might be life Rachel and Leah, from whom all the natins of Israel descended. They wished greatness to her and her descendants to be like Perez, son of Judah and Tamar (Jesus' lineage). They basically welcomed her into Israel and she became an Israelite. |
| Q. Did the blessing come true? |
A. Yes. Ruth was David's great-grandmother. Jesus comes from Judah's line. Note: Bless, bless, bless whenever you can. Words are so powerful. Maybe you speak a prophetic word. Look at Ruth. She could not bear children the ten years she was married. With Boaz, she concieved immediately. |
| Q. What did Ruth have? | A. Ruth 4:17 = A boy named Obed. |
| Q. How was Obed special? | A. Ruth 4:16 = Obed, Ruth and Boaz's first son was given to Naomi to raise. |
| Q. So the Moabite Ruth makes David part Moabite? |
A. Yes. Note: God's line was never about pure pedigree. It was about the heart. Ruth had a wonderful heart. Tamar fooled Judah into sleeping with her, acting the temple prostitute. Yet Jesus chose that line from which to descend. Boaz had a hert of gold. What great ancestors to have for anyone! |
| Q. What lessons can we glean from Ruth? |
A. 1). A good reputation is worth having. You don't know who is checking you out. 2). We should take care of the people God puts in our lives. Not take friendship or in-laws non-commitally. 3). It is good to have friends we can love and be loved back by. There are folks who will give you everything they have. Be blessed! Don't try to read into it false motives. 4). Naomi had an interesting start. Famine, widowhood, children dying, and in the end, stuck with a non-Israelite daughter-in-law, who would not leave her in her misery. Then Ruth gives Naomi her firstborn to raise as her own. From happiness to sad and bitter, to joy. Seeing God work His miracles as He forms Jesus' bloodline. We really do not see clearly now, do we? 5). Coming from the tribe of Judah was such an honor. Gen. 49:8-12 says that Judah would be honored and praised by his brothers. He earns his reputation well and no one dares cross him. Judah is rich and keeps his place until Jesus comes. Naomi was right to be so excited for Ruth being grafted into Judah through Boaz. But Ruth also had all the characteristics Jacob prophesied Judah would have. Ruth also earned her place in Judah. As Jacob said, the prophesies were "appropriate" for each one of his children (Gen. 49:28). What a role model is Judah! He was first in battle, courageous, and his focus would stay firm until Messiah came. Judah's honor comes from keeping God's word. Throughout the time of the judges, Judah stayed pure. They, at least, were (or had) that remnant God always keeps. I am comforted knowing that Judah, though not mentioned until the Judges 20:18, was always there, faithful, though his brothers' tribes were in trouble spiritually. 6). Boaz treated Ruth with honor. God had instructed the Israelites to treat foreigners like their own. Notice, too, that contrast in behavior between Boaz, the honorable Judaite and the Levite's behavior (at the end of Judges) when it came to women. Concubines? Not for Boaz. God, make us an honorable people! We pray You bring honorable friendships and relationships to our lives. |