Of Redeemers: both Kinsman and Kinswoman, or, Naomi and Ruth Help Each Other Up (Ruth 1-4)

My normal procedure when I begin to study the women in a passage of Scripture for a blog post is to, even if I know the story, read methodically from the beginning to look for any female characters and notice them. In the book of Ruth, the first one you come across is actually Naomi. My initial thought was that I would devote a post to her, preliminarily, before looking in depth at the main character of the book, Ruth. But as I continued to search for her name as I skimmed along, I came to the realization that Naomi, not Ruth, seems to be the main protagonist of the book that bears Ruth's name. It begins with her tragedy and ends with the redemption of her suffering-- so much so that in the end she is the only one congratulated for the birth of Ruth's son Obed, and the one who "cuddles him to her breast." What a surprising angle I had not noticed before! As we go through the book of Ruth, we will get to see how Ruth ministers to Naomi, and how Ruth's own happy ending serves to bring joy to the main character of this book. 

What we learn about women:

• We see an example of God helping Naomi as she helps Ruth, and God helping Ruth as she helps Naomi. This dynamic is not unusual or exclusive to women, but the portrayal of the ministry these women have to one another in a difficult time is strikingly beautiful
• A deep ministry is available to us, especially within families, to share faithful presence with those who are suffering and also to provide physical needs.
• In ancient Israel, the loss of a husband was not just a devastating personal tragedy, but also a serious economic and status problem. This is still true to some degree today, but it was worse then.

What I'm wondering:

• First question: this courting ritual about sneaking in at night and uncovering Boaz's feet, what precisely was that??
• I do wonder at the very brief descriptions of the womens' first marriages, how were they? How would personal and economic losses have measured up against each other in this time?

When the book of Ruth opens "in the time of the Judges," (though notably and thankfully lacking any mention that "Israel had no king and everyone did as he saw fit") Naomi's family moves from Bethlehem to Moab to escape a famine. Here is another mention of that important small town. The decision to move is Naomi's husband Elimelech's very short contribution to the story. After moving to Moab, his next recorded action a sentence or two later is to die. Naomi was then "left with her two sons." The sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, and then they also have no other action recorded over ten years until they die in the next sentence. Now Naomi is "left alone without her two sons or her husband." The clear focus of the opening of the book is Naomi's loss.

We can imagine that before the famine, Naomi was very happy with her husband and two sons, living the just the kind of life as a wife and mother of sons that a woman would have wanted in ancient Israel. But the first five verses of the book serve her famine, exile from her home, and the loss of her entire family. 

Naomi hears that the crops have recovered in Judah, and decides to return there with her daughters-in -law. As they are leaving, we are given a deep look into Naomi's heart, which is overflowing with both despair and love. She urges Orpah and Ruth to return to their mothers' homes (not their fathers' as we might expect, another little female-focused detail of this story) and prays, in gratitude for their care for her and her sons, that the Lord will bless them with the security of another marriage. This testifies to the importance and security of marriage and male family members for these women. Ruth and Orpah have been good wives, so they should merit, and hope for, the provision of good husbands to take care of them. In contrast, Naomi sees that she will not be able to bear any more sons, and therefore will not be able to care for them, or for herself for that matter. She tells them, "things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me." This statement of pain and hopelessness comes in the context of her wish and hope that God will bless and provide security for her daughters-in-law. The women weep together at their situation.

This interaction gives me a clue why, even after Orpah returns to her family of origin, Ruth shows such devotion and care for her mother-in-law. You can see how Naomi loves her family deeply, and loves and trusts God, despite feeling so alone and abandoned by him.  It's also evident how much she wants to help her daughters, even while knowing that she cannot do it. This inspires Ruth to make the declaration of love and faithfulness that we use to this day to bind ourselves in marriage,"til death do us part." But Naomi does not have the energy to do anything in response other than stop resisting Ruth's determination to stay with her. Ruth then takes the lead. 

The two women arrive back in Bethlehem at the start of the barley harvest. The other women of Bethlehem serve in the role of something like a chorus to give a backdrop for Naomi to express her bitterness. Naomi is lost in her grief, so at the start of chapter 2, Ruth sets about taking care of the details-- she goes out to gather food. Naomi doesn't appear to have the presence of mind to send Ruth to the farm of her kinsman Boaz. Ruth just happens to wind up there to glean behind the harvesters, which is very fortunate. When Boaz comes out to greet the people working in his fields he notices and praises Ruth because he has heard how she is caring for her mother-in-law. He also describes her as having taken refuge with God, and prays that God will bless her. 

When Naomi sees the huge quantity of grain Boaz has given to Ruth, her spirits appear to lift. She is even more delighted that Ruth has happened to meet and find favor with Boaz, the man who could possibly offer shelter and a home to both Ruth and to her. Boaz is their kinsman redeemer, the man who has the legal right to marry Ruth and give her children to carry on the name of her husband. Naomi encourages Ruth to continue to glean in his field. The chapter ends with a sweet sentence: "And she lived with her mother-in-law." Naomi and Ruth begin to settle in together and carve out a life after their loss. Ruth is doing the faithful work of living with and being present with Naomi as she struggles through her darkness, and also simply providing her food. 

But then time passes, and Naomi has the resources to begin to help Ruth again in the way she has wanted to. Now that Ruth has shown such faithfulness to Naomi and in doing so, to her family at large and to God, Naomi is able to help her move on a more exciting and rewarding path--to again become a wife and mother. She gives Ruth advice on how to approach Boaz with what we can assume are a culturally specific set of actions for this kind of situation. Ruth follows these instructions faithfully. Boaz is pleased with her request and promises to try to marry her. When Ruth returns home from her "date night" with Boaz, they talk it all out together and Naomi reassures Ruth, "The man will not rest until the matter is settled today."

In the last chapter, Boaz does as he has promised. He makes the necessary arrangements with the leaders, and he and Ruth are married. When she conceives and gives birth to a son, we see that the point of this whole story is how the gift of ministry in grief from a loving daughter-in-law has saved and redeemed Naomi, even as Ruth is also redeemed by Naomi's kinsman. The women of the town return to rejoice exclusively with Naomi, and eventually claim that "Naomi has a son!" because Ruth does. They speak of the Lord providing Naomi with redemption through this son. This reminds us of the vital importance of male household members to provide for the women in their families. But the women also say that Ruth is a daughter-in-law who has been "better to you than seven sons." To top it all off, the book of Ruth ends with the genealogy that shows how Ruth will become the great-grandmother of David, the founder of the greatest Israelite dynasty. Naomi has indeed been honored and redeemed through the love and care of this faithful woman, Ruth. 

What a gift to find such a clear and beautiful meaning in this story after the disturbing unfaithfulness and distance from God which was so common throughout the book of Judges. In this story, we are simply given a beautiful picture of how God ministers to those suffering from loss, through the faithfulness of the people who stay with them and go through life with them. This story is especially about how women can help each other here. Though it is obvious that both Ruth and Naomi will need the love and care of men in order to live a traditionally happy and prosperous life in ancient Israel, the faithfulness of Ruth to Naomi in her time of depression and physical need is transformative for both of them. Naomi might have been lost in darkness without Ruth to bring her food and to live with her. Ruth may never have been able to join a community and reattain her status as a wife and mother without Naomi's help and counsel. These women were simply struggling to get by, and to take care of each other well. Naomi was afraid that God had turned against her, even as he was powerfully at work to redeem both her and Ruth through their care for one another. Truly this relationship of love and care between women brought more benefit to each of them than seven sons may have. The fact that within three generations, God would bring forth from this family line the birth of King David, Israel's greatest king, and an archetype of Christ, is even greater testimony to the way God's plan can unfold in the midst of grief and suffering when his people care for one another well in the midst of it. 

I also love that this story which is so female-focused as it relates to friendship, mother-daughter relationships, dating and dating advice, joy over grandchildren, etc., has been placed here in the canon of Scripture. These issues are shown to be an important part of the heritage of King David, who will be arguable the main character of the dynasty of Israel, which will occupy the next main section of Scripture, and a key place in the redemptive history of the people of God. The fact that Naomi and Ruth care for each other so well is crucial to the movement of God's plan. It is honored as such, since it provides the literary transition from the wildness of the time of the Judges to purposeful time of the books of Samuel where God established the nation of Israel under the house of David. 

Warriors, mothers, daughters, wives, and lovers--a coordinated pattern emerges from the fascinating women of Judges (Judges 1-21)

 

OK, so I know I keep saying how the stories in Judges are wild. We have now come to the end of the book, and the very last story, which is a postscript to the account of the civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel which we discussed briefly in the last post. Today's story is, again, bizarre to the ears of a modern reader. But again, I must remind myself that human history has been in general, as in the saying about nature, metal. Nature is metal. And history is metal. I'm currently reading a survey of medieval history which is not unlike the book of Judges in its steady flow of war, trickery, bloodshed, religious confusion, and, relevant to this project, abuse of women. But as we wrap up our study of women in Judges, I think there is an interesting pattern we can discern amidst the madness.

What we learn about women:

• The last episode in Judges displays the deep lack of power women held in Israel at this time, with the Israelite leaders treating them as hardly more than resources for reproduction.
• Throughout the book of Judges, men and women are juxtaposed, often to show the failings of men.
• This juxtaposition seems to apply to the wider world as well.

What I'm wondering:

• Is the apparent structure of the stories of women in Judges legitimate?
• If the patterns here reflect the world at large will we continue to see them in the Bible as we go along, or is this just one way of understanding some stories?

I'm frankly a bit exhausted in my capacity for shock at strange stories about wild behavior in the book of Judges. Perhaps that is the effect intended by the author. Chapter 21 recounts the fallout after Israel's civil war, when the eleven victorious tribes are saddened by the fact that the tribe of Benjamin has been so crushed that there is a risk that it will die out all together. Part of the problem is that there are no women who can be given as wives to the few men from Benjamin who have survived. The eleven tribes have vowed before God not to give any of their daughters in marriage to the Benjamites. But they find a convenient loophole in that they also have vowed to put to death anyone who was not there at Mizpah when that vow about their daughters was taken. The men from Jabesh Gilead are discovered to have been absent. Therefore, the Israelite army goes to destroy the entire town, with the exception of the young unmarried women. These women have not had any promises made about their marriages, and they can be given away to the Benjamites. Problem solved. Except, unfortunately, even after the women of Jabesh Gilead have been captured, there are still not enough women for the surviving Benjamites. 

Another legal maneuver is devised. The Israelite leaders conclude that it is technically not "giving" anyone's daughter in marriage if the young woman is kidnapped and then taken as a wife. Thankfully the festival of Shiloh is about to take place near Bethel, and many young women will be out dancing. The bachelor Benjamites are instructed to hide in the vineyards nearby, and simply go and capture wives for themselves from among the dancers. If the fathers of the young women protest, the situation about the oath will be explained, and hopefully everyone will understand. This plan is carried out, and everyone returns home.

What else is their really to say than to conclude with "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit?" 

Though Judges has been nothing short of a fascinating source of biblical material about women, I am quite looking forward to starting the logical, redemptive, moral story of Ruth which is coming up next. But first, I would like to pause and take a concluding look at the interesting literary pattern of male-female juxtaposition I've noticed in this book and try to summarize the evidence I see for it. 

I observe that in the book of Judges, we consistently see male and female characters placed together, with the women serving either to show a contrasting higher standard of behavior or to bear in horrifying amplification the consequences of the men's bad behavior. 

First, we have the very short story of Caleb's daughter Aksah asking her husband to negotiate about the land the couple has been given, but then slightly upstaging Caleb by actually doing the negotiation herself when she meets up with her father. 

Then there is Deborah, who summarizes her relationship with the Barak, commander of the Israelite army called to lead Israel to victory against Sisera, when she says, "because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman." Jael, the deadly nurse-assassin is contrasted with both Sisera who she slays with a tent-peg, and Barak, who arrives too late in pursuit of Sisera only to find him dead. 

Then we encounter Abimelek and and Jephthah, both illegitimate sons who struggle with their brothers. Both of their lives end in ruin, each time related to a woman: Abimelek is finally killed and defeated in battle when a woman drops a millstone on him in battle, Jephthah is "destroyed" emotionally when he fulfills a foolish vow to sacrifice his daughter after a military victory. These two exhibit both being shamed by a woman (Abimelek) and inflicting unjust suffering on a woman (Jephthah).

The story of Samson's mother's angelic message about his birth, which I can't help but see as comical, is next. She is contrasted with her husband who is very slow on the uptake of the genuine nature of the message she has received. After the stories of Samson's romantic partners, there is another story of a mother, who is herself slow on the uptake. This is Micah's mother, who rewards his return of money he stole from her with thanks to God and the gift of an idol to help him worship, rather than a rebuke. She is perhaps to be considered together with her son. Though she almost amplifies rather than contrasts with his lack of moral compass and theological understanding, she does set him on a course which he follows into idolatry, bringing the entire tribe of Dan along with him. 

Samson's love interests make a nice contrasting pair themselves. They are two Philistine women, one his wife, and one his lover, both of whom he should not have been in league with in the first place, and both of whom who cause him a load of trouble and tragedy. The difference in the endings of their stories is noteworthy, one is horribly killed in the fallout of Samson's revenge on her kin, the other is the person who lures Samson to his capture and blinding at the hands of the same Philistine community. Again, one of these women is the victim of suffering which condemns the male perpetrators and one woman gets the best of her man and reveals his failings in that way.

The last story of the concubine from Bethlehem stands alone. She plays the role of victim as a contrast against the whole nation, showcasing the evil lurking within Israel itself, which is found to be just about as horrible as the pagan nations the book has been oriented against. In the very last episode discussed above, a footnote to the story of the concubine and the war, we have more evidence that Israel itself is foundering in its identity as a nation. There has been a civil war, and in order to try to restore the nation, everyone is agreeing to killing the inhabitants of another Israelite town, and kidnapping lots of young women. The women of Shiloh dancing happily at a festival make quite a contrast with defeated and shamed Benjamite warriors hiding in the bushes to carry them off. 

As I write this out, I am struck, in addition to the contrasting men and women in Judges, by what seems to be a pairing of the stories of two warrior women, two women (side characters) who destroy warriors, two mothers, and two lovers. I'm not sure if that's a legitimate level of literary structure or not, but it's an interesting way to keep track of the women of Judges in our minds. 

I never expected to find this quantity of perspective on women and the male-female dynamic in this book. Again, I don't know if the author of the book intended the women here to serve the functions they do, but as I think it over, it really rings true to life in general. I think just as men and women pair into couples for love and family, they also pair in their larger societal roles. These more and less powerful roles really seem to show in a symbolic way the result of inherent inequality in the world--in all its injustice, and also its potential beauty. When women, who are normally less powerful, are able to exhibit power and influence in an unexpected way, we take note and admire, and often give glory to God who makes the weak strong. When men, who in their strength and power ought to achieve and protect, either abdicate or oppress, the ugliness of injustice becomes unbearable to look at. Judges portrays everything going wrong in Israel while everyone does as they see fit. I think this plays out in a very illuminating way between men and women and I am really thankful, despite the horror and sadness we encounter here, for the insight it has provided.