RUTHless Theology

ruth·less [adjective]: having or showing no pity or mercy; (cruel, callous, or brutal)  – Microsoft Encarta Dictionary

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her – Rth 1:22

It may come across as odd that “Ruth” is one of the books some contend have no place in the Bible. Because of its close link to Judges (the events in Ruth happened during, not after, the seemingly senseless chaos there), some scholars see both books as “unworthy of God” and “of little or no value to 21^st century readers”.

We today, being mostly gentile by physical ancestry, may not be able to appreciate the disturbing nature of the Ruth narrative. It’s not without significance that her name is associated with “Moab” 6 out of the 12 times she’s mentioned in the book. It seems to be a deliberate underscoring that, chaste and virtuous as this woman may be, we need to note that she’s from MOAB.

Just as a quick reminder,

> The Moabites are the descendants of Moab, the son born from a horrible incestuous relationship between Lot and his first daughter (Gen 19:37).

> It was the king of Moab, Balak, that employed Balaam to curse the Israelites while they were in the wilderness (Num 22-24).

> It was Moabite women that seduced the Israelites into lewdness, which resulted in 24,000 deaths (Num 25:1-3);

> The Moabites, throughout the Old Testament, were notorious for their paganism and abominable practices...

> Ruth, the famed “faithful daughter-in-law”, was a Moabitess.

Hence the scandal, hence the outrage, hence the rejection of her story’s legitimacy. But a Bible without Ruth would be ruthless!

Witty puns aside, a theology that does not give room for the amazingly scandalous grace of God, a belief system that doesn’t factor that we’re all equally unworthy of mercy, a doctrine that prejudges people based on their antecedents and gives them no room for forgiveness... is cruel, callous, and, yes, ruthless.

Ruth’s story may be disturbing to the holier-than-thous in the church; but for the rest of us that can honestly concede that we aren’t the most qualified for God’s favour, and admit to having a history that we should be rightly ashamed of, the book of Ruth offers us hope, and peace and confidence.

 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. “  – Rom 15:4

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN