The Bible Story that is a Tribute to Women

Icon of Ruth and Naomi

The Book of Ruth has always been a popular section of the bible that holds a special appeal to women for a variety of reasons.  It is a testament of female self-sufficiency and of a close relationship between strong, resourceful women.  The richness of this story even extends to championing outcasts and oppressed people, while Ruth's example also serves as a tribute to the dignity of labor.

It is established at the beginning of this story that Ruth is not an Israelite by birth but rather a Moabite, ironically a people who were not even friends with the Israelites.  But in a plot twist of God's will, she has married a Judahite (a Hebrew person from the tribe of Judah).  With this marriage, Ruth has accepted the people of Israel as her own, moreover she has adopted the God of Israel as her own. 

These convictions are greatly tested when both she and her sister-in-law, another Moabitess, experience the deaths of their Israelite husbands.  Their mother-in-law, Naomi, had also lost her own husband, Elimelech.  The three women are left to figure out how they will survive.  Given the era in which they live, a time when women were completely dependent upon the support of men, this was especially problematic.  At first, both daughters-in-law want to stay with Naomi.  But Naomi cannot provide for them and doesn't even have any other son that either daughter-in-law could take to replace the one lost; no man means no source of support nor continuing family legacy--they are literally left with nothing!  So Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to go back to their own people.  One daughter-in-law reluctantly agrees and leaves Naomi alone with the other daughter-in-law, Ruth.  But Ruth is completely devoted to Naomi and refuses to leave her, demonstrating their strong and special relationship. (RUTH 1:16-17) 

As the elder, Naomi knows she must devise a way to provide security for herself and Ruth.  With their strength of determination and resourcefulness, Naomi takes Ruth back to Judah where Naomi's late husband owned property.  But claiming this land and continuing the family lineage are tied together; Naomi knows that there exists the requirement of a close relative (usually the dead man's brother) to marry the widow of the deceased in order to continue his family line (DEUTERONOMY 25:5-10).  Naomi is too old to have more children, so both women agree to position Ruth for this purpose.  But since there is no direct heir through Naomi's late husband, Elimelech, to inherit his land, Naomi must wisely seek out an appropriate member of their extended family that would qualify for a "Levirate-like" marriage for Ruth  (adhering to the custom by which a man may be obliged to marry his brother's widow).  The proper selection would ensure them in their claim to the land with the support that it provides, along with the carrying on the family lineage for future security. 

Naomi decides on a wealthy relation that owns a lot of land of his own, whose name is Boaz.  Since it is harvest season, Naomi puts her plan in motion by directing Ruth to go to work on Boaz's land gleaning barley from the reapers.  The women are true partners in this endeavor; Ruth exhibits her loyalty to Naomi by following her instructions.  Ruth performs an admirable work ethic, working Boaz's field of barley without rest from morning to night.  Her tireless dedication is noticed by Boaz.  She works through the harvest season, steadfastly gleaning and gathering by the handfuls the leftover barley after the reapers.  Day in and day out, Ruth not only works hard but additionally proves endless devotion to her mother-in-law by saving a portion of her daily food allotment for Naomi's consumption.

Boaz is in admiration of Ruth's efforts.  He commends her on her bravery to leave all she had known in her native land behind to stay with Naomi.  He rewards her allegiance and faithful labor by making sure she is treated respectfully by his other laborers along with her receiving an equal share of the grain.  Boaz invites Ruth to eat with him and even extends her a greater territory in which to glean.  He orders protection of her so that other laborers do not reprimand her for this greater access. Ruth maintains her dedicated work ethic and virtue to be worthy of Boaz.  Despite having just been a servant in his field, through hard work and loyalty she earns the suitability to become his wife. 

Boaz rewards Ruth with a gift of barley as a sign of "redemption".  Naomi is excited, it looks like her plan of arranging a "Levirate-like" marriage for Ruth from the extended family worked and that she and Ruth will be taken care of!

But a complication arises when another, besides Boaz, surfaces who happens to be a closer relative to Elimelech.  His position gives him the first claim on Naomi and Elimelech's property.  Custom requires that land stays in the family, although a family could mortgage land to ward off poverty; yet law required a kinsman to purchase it back into the family (Leviticus 25:25).  This near kinsman aims to take advantage of this law and buy the land.  The women are disappointed; there is no offer of a "Levirate-like" marriage and they now worry that their plans for a secure future have fallen through.

But with Ruth having successfully won favor with Boaz, he steps in to advocate for her and her mother-in-law.

Boaz meets this near kinsman at the city gate, a location famous for settling contracts. This kinsman first says he'll purchase Naomi and Elimelech's land but when he hears he must also marry Ruth, he withdraws the offer. 

Boaz then satisfies custom by marrying Ruth and becomes the "kinsman's redeemer".  

Ruth and Naomi partnered to succeed with their plans despite Deuteronomy 23:3-6 which excludes any Ammonite or Moabite from the congregation of the Lord (joining the Israelites).  They were able to do this because Ruth had already set a precedent of exception by having married Naomi's son, a Judahite, and with her regarding herself a member of his family even after his death she was able to proceed in her marrying another Judahite.  This not only benefited the two women, but also went on to benefit all of God's people; both Boaz and Ruth become the ancestors of David and--resultingly--of Jesus Christ Himself.  As such, Ruth teaches Jews and Christians alike how outsiders can become good, exemplary followers and there is no reason to exclude them.

That is why this section of scripture is held in great esteem by both Jews and Christians.  For Jews, who fall under the category of Jews-by-choice, this book uniquely addresses the difficulty of trying to apply the laws given in books such as Deuteronomy which excludes outsiders.  For Christians, Ruth prefigures being the outsider who is grafted into joining the ranks of God's chosen people.   

Her story that she shares with Naomi makes The Book of Ruth one of the greatest mother-daughter stories ever told.  Women continue to celebrate it as a tribute to what godly women can accomplish, not the least of which was setting into place a descendancy celebrated by Jews and Christians that eventually went on to change the world!

ASH WEDNESDAY IS THE VALENTINE'S DAY FOR GOD

Most everyone knows what Valentine's Day is all about:  Celebrating Love. 

The main commercial thrust defines this as a holiday celebration of romantic love, yet it can also mean celebrating the love within family bonds such as between father and daughter.  But with Valentine's Day falling on Ash Wednesday this week, this offers the unique opportunity for one to accentuate affection for the greatest love of all:  The Love of God.

Ash Wednesday represents the first day of Lent in the Western Church, occurring 46 days prior to Easter.  It is marked by services of penitence, during which the ashes of burned palms from the preceding year's Palm Sunday are blessed and used by the priest who traces a cross onto the forehead of each worshiper to signify a better appreciation of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Each time the priest draws this, he recites, "Remember, man, that dust art thou, and unto dust thou shalt return".  (Genesis 3:19 KJV)  This commencement of the Lenten period of time leads

Priest traces cross onto parishioner's forehead

believers to devote themselves more fully to an increased self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial.

While this description of Ash Wednesday may sound more grim and painstaking than anything that resembles Valentine Day's pleasure of love, the whole idea is to demonstrate the beauty of the ultimate sacrificial love reserved solely for God Himself.  All of the above-named practices, themselves true expressions of love, are the combined preparations for not just any death but for a holy one in order to be eternally--and blissfully--joined together with God.

The origin of Ash Wednesday is not biblical, but actually came later in church history.  

The idea for it began with the formation of Lent itself,which was accepted into the beliefs of the Church at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.  The Council adopted the 40-day duration, beginning on the 4th Sunday of the year, for fasting which became known as Lent.  While repenting, fasting, and focusing on God are  important all year long, this period of time encouraged a more keen rededication of these practices which remains an annual opportunity to this day.

The exact origin of Ash Wednesday itself is unclear, but in 601 A.D. Pope St. Gregory I (the Great) moved the beginning of Lent on the calendar from the 4th Sunday of the year to the day that was to became Ash Wednesday; now 46 days before Easter, this change allowed for 40 days of fasting along with 6 Sundays counting as Feast Days.  This raised the total to  46 days for Lent.  It is believed that Pope Gregory, as found in the earliest existing copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary, then went on to institute the "Day of Ashes" as the onset of Lent.  This later became the Catholic tradition of Ash Wednesday, the ritual of marking the forehead of each worshiper with ashes in the shape of the cross.

There are biblical roots for the actual practice of using dust or ashes to demonstrate regret for sin as found in Esther 4:1 with Mordecai, Job 42:6, Jonah 3:5-6 with the inhabitants of Nineveh, and in  Daniel 9:3-4.  In biblical times, this show of repentance was often followed by fasting.

Repenting (feeling remorse for disappointing God), Fasting (practicing self-denial to build the spiritual strength needed to overcome obstacles to a closer relationship with God), and a greater focus on God (expelling selfishness for the unrivaled exaltation of God), are all Christian acts that fittingly testify to the greatest love of all.  And these practices, as believers well know, carry far more value than the traditional Valentine's Day gifts of chocolates, bouquets, or even diamond jewelry. They are the actions that speak volumes in securing unification with the utmost of all loves.

The Morning Brew Book Review: THE BENEDICT OPTION by Rod Dreher

This recommended faith-based reading is not a pleasant perusal to go to bed by, but it amounts to a necessary wake-up call.

The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher (published by Penguin Random House LLC, 2017) is not relaxing and certainly not escapism; in fact, I found it to be downright disturbing.  

But, that's the point.  

By reading this book, you will learn about how cultural fates have come full circle and the perfect social-political-corporational storm has amassed to bring America to the brink of what the author calls "the Post-Christian Era".  Page after page, Dreher builds his case to prove that the diminishing Christian presence and practice here in the West is gasping from its greatest existential threat--one that even surpasses the Dark Ages.  

When I read this book last year, it was the first time I had seen such a harsh description of the state of Christianity in America today.  But instead of losing heart and abandoning the book, I found it all very relatable--not only now the dwindling of church attendance, but also the headlines of the growing legal and corporate threats to anyone trying to live by biblical standards in our schools and at the workplace.  And for what I hadn't understood before, the alliance of the social-political-corporational forces at work against Christianity, the author provided useful analysis and context.  

Dreher describes this Christian crisis in time and what it means for those of us who care.  His candor is refreshing and even relieving.  He further dives into how we blindly arrived at this point, causes that even predate America's existence as a nation.  Dreher identifies and expounds upon the following turning points:

* The 14th century's loss of belief in the integral connection between God & creation
* The 16th century's collapse of religious unity/authority in the Protestant Reformation
* The 18th century's Enlightenment, displacing the Christian religion with the cult of Reason
* The 18th-20th century's Industrial Revolution 
* The 20th century to present's Sexual Revolution

Dreher's historic research is impressive and vast.  All of it leads to the climatic question: Where do we go from here?

Dreher then lays out his book's namesake strategy for rebounding (or shall we say, reinventing) our position in society for the sake of the survival of practicing our beliefs.  Not surprisingly, it calls for the formation of isolated societies which instantly brought to my mind how the Amish have endured for so long.

It is that strategy, one that the author calls the Benedict Option, for which the book is titled and that is named for St. Benedict who during the Dark Ages incorporated this same idea for the survival of Christianity during that period.  In fact, Dreher reports on his visits to the monastery of St. Benedict in Norcia and interviewing the monks there to add to this blueprint.

As the reader starts to mull over this new yet ancient theory on using counter-culture and what form it would even take in present day America, Dreher offers up certain examples of efforts already underway in this country but which are on a much smaller scale; scattered seeds bearing some blossoms as proof of the ideology's possibility and viability.

But can such seeds be enough to eventually take root to grow into the force needed to save Christianity in America?  

Either the last chapter has yet to be written to confirm its call for action, or there is an entire sequel waiting to unfold in response.  In either case, The Benedict Option is a must-read to explore how course-changing historical events have pooled together to produce waves that threaten to reach beyond us and well into the future to completely drown out Christianity.  This book is the tsunami warning.  The take-away for each reader is to decide which option represents the highest and firmest ground to grab onto.