What's Wrong With Ruth?
What’s wrong with Ruth? Absolutely nothing! We’re talking about the Ruth in the Bible. Do you know her story? Chances are that you do.
Sometimes, here in Tirzah, we delve into the world of theological terms. I wanted to give a brief lesson in exegesis vs. “eisegesis”. To start with, let me tell you the story of Ruth.
Ruth is a woman who lived during Old Testament Bible times. She lost her husband and had no children. In addition, her husband’s brothers died so there was no one for her to marry (in Bible times, women were given to their husband’s brother if their husband died in order to carry on their lineage). She was from what was considered an “evil” group called the Moabites and her mother-in-law told her to go back so she could find a husband. Ruth wanted to be a part of following God and His people, so she said she would go wherever her mother-in-law went. They went to a new place where her mother-in-law told her to go work for a guy named Boaz. She followed the rules and discovered Boaz was someone within her husband’s family lineage that she could marry. Long story short - Ruth followed her mother-in-law’s strategy, got a husband named Boaz, and was part of the lineage of Jesus!
Now, let’s look at Ruth through exegesis. The idea of exegesis is to study and explain what Scripture is saying. First, we know that the story of Ruth is the story of Jesus. It is giving the history of how God used an ordinary woman to bring forth His son one day. We see what it was like for a woman from God’s enemy people to forsake everything and follow Him. Ruth honored her family, which wasn’t easy if you know that her mother-in-law’s name literally means “bitter” (for good reason!) In this story, we have now heard the story of an ordinary girl following an extraordinary God’s plan.
However, eisegesis tells a different story. Maybe you’ve heard this story. You’re the next Ruth. Follow God’s plan to land you a husband. If you’re faithful, God will reward you. These are messages that “eisegesis” says. It’s when you walk into reading the Scripture with an agenda or an idea that you will become that person or like them. Something I’ve seen a lot over the years is the ability for us to accidentally take someone like Ruth or Esther or even Tirzah’s story and make it our own. That’s not the point of the Bible and that is what can go wrong with Ruth - or other women in the Bible.
I want to encourage you today to read Scripture with the beauty of understanding a wonderful Creator who is giving you instructions, wrote a love letter, and has beautiful examples of how He works everything together for your good. This week I challenge you to read the book of Ruth with only the expectation to learn more of who God is. I also want to encourage you to know that you have a Ruth story! It’s your very own life that God planned in advance before you were even a thought in your parent’s minds. I’m certainly glad God made me “Alycia” with His own plans to show His glory. He made you, _________, for His glory as well!
Check out the book of Ruth in the Bible this week if you want to learn more about this story. If you really want to do a deep dive, I encourage you to check out “Ruth” by Kelly Minter where she digs into the history of Ruth’s people and her story.