“The LORD bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.” – Ruth 2:20

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 20, 2012): Ruth 2

I used to watch “The Walton’s” when I was younger. I always found the story kind of bitter-sweet. It told the story of a family during the great depression. It was a time of great poverty, but on Walton’s Mountain it was also a time of great joy. The Walton’s, in the midst of great pain, had rediscovered family and the ties that bound them together. From a modern standpoint, it is almost impossible to imagine a large extended family all living and working under one roof – but the Walton’s made it work in a heart warming way. Their safety net was each other – and somehow that seemed like the way that it should be.

One of the effects of the Great Depression was the development of the social welfare program. What had once been the responsibility of the family became the responsibility of the society. The safety net was not born, but it was moved. It was a great idea, but in some ways it was another event in the weakening of the family unit. We no longer needed each other to survive in rough times – we had other alternatives.

The whole story of in the book of Ruth is about a family in search of a safety net. When Naomi and her family moved to Moab, the last thing on her mind was that she would be in need of a safety net beyond that of her own family. She had a husband, and in the event that something happened to him, she had two healthy sons. But now they were all gone, and she is left with a Moabite daughter-in-law. And the truth of Naomi’s situation was that Ruth was more dependent on her for survival then she could be a help to her.

Enter the Kinsmen-Redeemer – the safety net. Actually the whole idea of a Kinsmen-Redeemer existed only in the mind of Naomi – and later in the mind of Boaz – at least in the manner in which she presents it to Ruth. The Kinsmen-Redeemer was real, but the problem was that it could not be Ruth’s safety net – it was Naomi’s. Ruth was a Moabite, forbidden to marry into Israel and beyond the protection of the Law of Moses. Naomi could be redeemed, but not Ruth.

It is a fact that is conveniently over looked in the book of Ruth – and for good reason. The story of Ruth foreshadows the coming of the Messiah and the purpose of the book is to establish a link between Ruth and David – and therefore Ruth and Jesus. And when the Messiah would come, he would come for everybody – and that would even include Moabite women like his multi-great grandmother, Ruth.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ruth 3