Israel was still young,
She had never had a king.
The judges ruled the people.
Every man did as he pleased.
Then famine sweep the nation
Food was scarce, and life was hard.

A family of the tribe of Judah,
Headed for higher ground
They settled in the country of Moab, in a
'Wash pot' of a town
Elimelech and his household
Moved to an 'unholy' land;
The father died while they were there
Leaving his wife and sons ~

Both boys married Moabite women
Contravene to the Mosaic Law,
Mahlon and Chilion later both died
Leaving their mother in Moab
with their brides.
Ten years they'd lived in this Gentile place
Now! Naomi's whole family was dead.

Then word came out of Judah
That the famine had finished its days
Naomi said; 'I'm going back home
To the house of bread and praise;'
So, the women headed...down the road
That led to Bethlehem...

Naomi, stopped to kiss them
Good~by; the women were sad,
They began to cry, they did not
Want to leave their mother-in-laws side.
Naomi tried to reason with them, she said;
'I have no more sons to marry you,
Go back to your families get on with your lives,
God bless you, and bestow you good men.'

Going to Bethlehem with Naomi
Had its pros and cons;
The pro was to worship
The One True God
Not a statue
Of gold or bronze ~

On the other hand leaving Moab
To live among the Jew's
Meant being a stranger
In a strange land, and
The prospects of marriage
They had little chance.

You see! The Jews married, from
Within their own tribe's
They obeyed the Mosaic Law,
That commanded them to protect
The land, and keep it
In their own clan ~

Now! Orpah loved Naomi,
And she loved Naomi's God
But! Not enough to go to Judah
Away from the land of Moab ~

These women would
Need MALE PROTECTION
To escape poverty and strife
Orpah bid...Naomi fair-well
Then she turned towards
Home and cried.

Ruth on the other hand, refused
To turn around, she made it clear to Naomi
'I'm staying by your side.
Where ever you go dear mother in-law
I will be there too...
I'll put my trust in your God
Only death can separate, me from you.'
What a valiant young woman Ruth was.

'Ruth' left her pagan land
With her mother in-law
A 'Moabitess,' moving to Judah,
Life was going to be hard.
'She' would not be allowed to enter...
The 'Congregation of the Lord;'
Naomi was an excellent
Role model, a great woman of God.

Naomi and Ruth entered Bethlehem,
It was time or the barley harvest.
Naomi's friends began to cheer
'Naomi! Has Come Back Home!'
'Call me Mara,' she replied; 'God has dealt
Bitterly with me, I left here full,
I came back empty,' woe is me, woe is me!
She echoed the words of Job.

Naomi, a widow of the tribe of Judah
With Ruth, her dead sons wife,
Arrived in Bethlehem alone
Without a male to provide them a home,
Naomi had no right to own land
According to the Mosaic Law ~

Poverty
O poverty!
Naomi
Knew her fate!

'Ruth' the 'proselyte,' Exclaimed;
'Let me go, and look for grace!'
She headed down the road,
When 'she' 'happened' to find a good place
The young widow, saw the maidens gleaning,
She perceived that the field would be safe.

The parcel was owned by Boaz.
A mighty man of wealth;
An observer of the Mosaic Law
The 'poor' were welcome there.
'They' followed behind
The reapers, picking up what fell ~

During the course of the day
Boaz came along
He noticed Ruth among the damsels,
Gleaning with the poor and the foreign
He asked his trusted foreman
'Who's that beautiful girl?'
'She arrived from Moab with Naomi,'
He said;
Boaz met Ruth in his field.

Boaz had heard a good report
About Ruth
He invited her to lunch
Then he told his servants;
'Let her glean,
Anywhere she wants...'Let fall'
Some extra corn for her
Even among the sheaves' ~

Ruth went home that evening
Her arms were filled with food.
'Who'd you find favor with my dear?'
Naomi questioned Ruth;
'I gleaned in Boaz's field'
She said; Naomi was overjoyed.
'This man is our near kinsman.'
Praise the Lord!

Throughout the gathering season,
The pair's fondness cultivated.
The twinkle...was visible in their eyes.
During the barley and wheat harvest
Ruth continued to glean,
Naomi noticed them
Looking like...a couple of
Love sick teens ~

She then inquired of her daughter in~law,
'Would you like to find 'rest,' with Boaz?'
The blushing Ruth replied; 'why yes!
I'd like to be his wife.'
Naomi took advantage
Of the custom of the times,
She told Ruth, what she must do,
To become Boaz's bride ~

The harvest is over.
The men are on the hill...separating
The wheat from the chaff...
Silently, go to the threshing floor,
After they fall asleep
Find the place...that Boaz rests his head
Lay quietly...
At the foot of his bed ~

When,
He awakes,
And sees you there
Lift the covers off his feet.
Boaz, will then tell you
What to do next.

This act is amazing to me; it's the
Same way we are saved.
We have to ask the Lord to...save
Us, in order
To receive His grace; the custom of
The 'kinsman redeemer'
If a relative wanted to be bought back,
They'd have to ask the 'nearest kin'
But, 'he' did not...
Have to say yes.
Thank God, our Lord is not like us
He'd never refuse our plea.
If you believe, and ask to be saved,
He'll redeem you, right now...today.
And that's the difference between
Law~and~grace ~

When he awoke around midnight
The maiden was at his feet.
Ruth made the proposal of marriage,
'Spread the corners over me.'
Boaz was elated, that Ruth had chosen him,
She was lovely and pious,
And, she did~not consort...with the
Immature young men ~

Though Boaz could not
Accept her request
He was honored none the less.
He reluctantly told
The gorgeous Ruth
'There's a kinsman closer than myself.
I'll speak to him...in the morning
You can depend on that.'

Boaz was a man of God
Who'd read Leviticus 25
He said to Ruth; 'stay here tonight
Leave early in the morn,
Don't...let the men see you...
Leaving the threshing floor' ~

Take home some food
To your mother in~law,
I'll talk to my near kin.
If he turns down Naomi's offer
You'll be...my wife,
My love...my friend!

The next morning,
Boaz left the floor.
He went to the city gate,
Where all legal transactions...
Of the little town, took place.
He waited for his kinsman
With ten elders at his side
When his relative came into the courtyard
Boaz caught his eye.

'Come over here...fellow'
Boaz said;
'I'd like a word or two,
There's a field in the 'HANDS"
Of Elimelech's 'wife,' and
I'm in line after you.'

Now Boaz was a skilled orator, he knew the right
Words to say, he understood, just how...to
Present his case ~

The kinsman said; OK! Boaz
'I'll redeem the field.'
Then Boaz told him the stipulation,
Hoping to siege the deal...

'The day that you
Redeem the land
Our relative Naomi has said;
You'll have to buy
The Moabitess Ruth,
The wife of the dead'...

Not many men would mar their own inheritance,
And buy a kinsman's field.
Then father a son for a deceased man...
So the relatives name though dead...still lives!

The kinsman told Boaz;
'You can redeem the field,
Somebody! Take my shoe
To seal this deal,
I'm out of here!'

Naomi's distress was over
Liberation came at last
By the birth of her
Grandson, Obed
The family's name surpassed.
In the lineage of Our Messiah;
Jesus Christ the Lord!

Why depart thy-selves to a place of idol Worship?
God was surely in the plan, for He returned Naomi,
With her Gentile daughter in-law,
To be included in HIS Messianic Line;
The Story of Love and Redemption;
Boaz received his bride. A 'descendant' of Lot and his
Incestuous daughter, 'Ruth' the Moabitess, was bought.

Ruth 4: 13, 14 "So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel."

Ruth 4: 17 "And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and thy called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David."

Ezekiel 16: 8 "Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread My skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine."

See: Deuteronomy 25: 5~10 "The Law of Levirate Marriage [Brothers]
This law would not help Naomi or Ruth, because all the men of their household were dead.
Note: The word 'dwell together.' There were no male relatives left who lived with Naomi and Ruth.

See Leviticus 25 "The Redemption of Land" (or person). Any close relative, in the order of the [Nearest kin]; Elimelech's 'family' property was qualified to be redeemed from the 'hands of Naomi,' his widow...at her request, by a kinsman 'willing' to redeem it under her terms, which included the marriage of her dead sons wife.

Even though Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon was not of the tribe of Judah, and according to custom she was an outsider, Boaz accepted her as his bride...because he loved her.

See: Numbers 26 "Division of Land," [tribes of Israel]; The MALE off spring, were ascribed to keep the land divided among the tribes through inheritance; the land was later abandoned during the dispersion. Christ will redeem it back, at the Second Coming. There was one exception to the rule, concerning land being passed down, male to male. See Numbers 27: 5~11. "The daughter's of Zelophehad."

Read: Genesis 29: 35; 49: 8; Exodus 1: 2~5; Deuteronomy 23: 3; 1 Chronicles 2: 3; Joel 3: 20; and the book of Ruth.

Scriptures are taken from the: King James Version of the Bible.

[The tribe of Judah, (the kingly, Messianic line) Jacob's forth son (Judah)]

Word Meanings:
Bethlehem "House of Bread"
Judah "Praise"
Moab "Wash Pot"
Main Characters:
Naomi: A type of Holy Spirit, teacher and comforter.
Ruth: A virtuous Gentile woman in need of a Savior, and a
surrogate for Naomi
Boaz: Goel, a picture of Christ, kinsman redeemer, protector,
guardian, savior
Obed: The family redeemer, this child carried on the family name.
Orpah: The one who turned back