Welcome! I'm late this week, hampered by a bad foot which finally seems to be healing. Again, it would be very helpful at the end of this session if you would check the like button and make a comment, which will be visible to everyone who reads this blog, and we will be a group who can communicate with each other.
Naomi, who has described herself as Mara (bitterness), begins the chapter by telling Ruth she is going to provide security for Ruth. Naomi is moving from emptiness to fulness, and her caring for her daughter is part of that process.
A continuing surprise for us is that caring and acting for others is a blessing for us, not a heavy burden. Isn't
It almost always an unexpected grace rather than a reward for being or doing good?
The rest of the chapter is a study in ambiguity. Is Boaz being manipulated or given a chance to do what he wants to do? Is the Hebrew word for feet about feet or the male sexual organ? Did the couple sleep or make love? Are the six measures of barley to Naomi the marriage price? The story engages the hearer and in sense teases the hearer. The resolution takes place in chapter 4.
The blessing in this chapter is again from Boaz in verse 10. "He said, 'May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich."
Now the pledge give to Naomi is extended to Boaz, and this becomes Ruth's wedding pledge.
Boaz calls Ruth a worthy woman, and that is a common description of the role and value of women in Wisdom Literature. The old testament is not exclusively patriarchal or matriarchal, but there is an interplay that involves both men and women. It is very clearly an affirmation of Ruth.
The roles of both men and women are a present concern in our society and churches. Does mutual respect provide a setting for our interplay with each other?
Naomi, who has described herself as Mara (bitterness), begins the chapter by telling Ruth she is going to provide security for Ruth. Naomi is moving from emptiness to fulness, and her caring for her daughter is part of that process.
A continuing surprise for us is that caring and acting for others is a blessing for us, not a heavy burden. Isn't
It almost always an unexpected grace rather than a reward for being or doing good?
The rest of the chapter is a study in ambiguity. Is Boaz being manipulated or given a chance to do what he wants to do? Is the Hebrew word for feet about feet or the male sexual organ? Did the couple sleep or make love? Are the six measures of barley to Naomi the marriage price? The story engages the hearer and in sense teases the hearer. The resolution takes place in chapter 4.
The blessing in this chapter is again from Boaz in verse 10. "He said, 'May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich."
Now the pledge give to Naomi is extended to Boaz, and this becomes Ruth's wedding pledge.
Boaz calls Ruth a worthy woman, and that is a common description of the role and value of women in Wisdom Literature. The old testament is not exclusively patriarchal or matriarchal, but there is an interplay that involves both men and women. It is very clearly an affirmation of Ruth.
The roles of both men and women are a present concern in our society and churches. Does mutual respect provide a setting for our interplay with each other?
RSS Feed