All In the Family

Last week we focused on our friend, Naomi.  This week we move to the character that the book is named for, Ruth.  We learned last week that Ruth was a Moabite.  This meant she was a pagan and not part of God’s covenant family.  We also learned that she was widowed at an early age.

Naomi released her daughters-in-law to go back to the families where they would have protection.  Without men women in this ancient culture were very vulnerable.  Look at what happens in Ruth 1:14.  Ruth chose to stay with Naomi, her mother-in-law.

Naomi tries to reason with her.  Lets look at verses 15-18.  In these verses not only does Ruth accept her MIL, Naomi, but she also accepts God and is brought through Naomi into God’s covenant family.

Ruth problems aren’t over though.  She and Naomi return to the Promised Land with no man to protect them and to provide for them.  She is forced to glean wheat in the fields like the poor.  Look at how she views herself in Ruth 2:10.  Even though Naomi has accepted her and she has accepted God, she still felt like an outsider.

I love how Boaz describes Ruth and what she has sacrificed in verses 11-12.  It is clear to Boaz that by accepting Naomi and caring for her, she is part of God’s family.  If you continue to read the verses following, you she what a gentle spirit Ruth had.

At this point, Naomi devises a plan to get Boaz to marry Ruth.  In ancient Israel, if your husband dies, his nearest kin would take you in and protect you.  It was called a kinsman redeemer.  Naomi knows this is Boaz.  Look at how Ruth responds to her MIL in 3:5.  When is the last time you answered your MIL like that?

The plan is set in motion.  Look at what Boaz says about being the kinsman redeemer in 4:5.  Ruth and Naomi are a package deal.  Ruth knew this all along.  The kinsman redeemer gets Naomi’s land but must take Ruth and raise a family with her.  This is a great example of an outsider truly understanding what it means to be a family.

Ruth’s issue was her mother-in-law.  But this week I want to focus on all the people on the fringes of our nuclear families.  They might be your in laws.  But you may also have blended your family with another.  Whatever the case examine how you treat those you gained through marriage (either your own or someone else’s)   The ancient Hebrew culture didn’t differentiate.  When you married, you all became family.  Notice that Ruth doesn’t take the easy way out, even though with her husband gone she had every right to leave.

Too often we see those we’ve gained through marriage as a nuisance or competition.  How would life change if we were welcoming and accommodating?  Maybe we need to realize that the family we married into or were married into didn’t pick us either.  Not everyone has a say in who becomes family.  But everyone has the ability to be kind and nurturing and welcoming.  How have you treated the people on the fringes of your family?  Ask yourself the following questions:

How do I treat my in laws?  My step children?

What can I learn from Ruth?

Would I have left Naomi and returned home?

Am I understanding of the needs of my in laws or step children?

Do I feel jealous of them or compete?