In the last chapter, we reviewed the laws that go regulated how Israel should treat the stranger, the fatherless and the widow within its own borders. An example of how these laws can be put into practice can be found in the book of Ruth.
Due to a famine, Elimelech, an Israelite, and his wife Naomi leave their homeland of Israel with their two children and go to the neighboring country of Moab to live there as strangers:
“1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.”
(Ru 1:1-2)
In Moab, Elimelech dies, leaving Naomi alone with her two sons, who each marry a Moabite wife: Orpah and Ruth. After some time, Naomi’s two sons also die, and she is left alone with her sons’ wives. This was a very difficult situation for Naomi because in biblical times a single woman without either a husband or sons was not able to support herself.
Naomi then decides to return to her homeland of Israel and wants Orpah and Ruth to stay in Moab where they can remarry. Orpah stays in Moab but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi and says:
“16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
(Ru 1:16)
Ruth’s confession echoes God’s promise to Israel: “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.”[i]
By choosing God and his people, Ruth goes from being a Moabite stranger to becoming a citizen of God’s kingdom, at least spiritually.
At first, Ruth was still considered a stranger in Israel. But as a stranger, she has the right, according to the Law of Moses, to pick leftover branches from Israelite fields.[ii] As we saw in the last chapter, it was part of God’s covenant that the Israelites would give a portion of their harvest to the strangers:
“9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
(Le 19:9-10)
To the Israelite who obeyed this command, God made a clear promise: “the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”[iii]
The generosity of the native Israelites in their abundance gave foreigners a chance to survive in the land.
“2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. ”
(Ru 2:2-3)
Ruth, a stranger in a foreign country, seems to have decided not to get stuck in alienation or welfare dependency, but to actively try to become part of her new country and make a new and better life for herself. When Ruth takes advantage of the right of foreigners to pick leftover ears of grain, she meets Boas, who was a member of Elimelech’s family. Eventually they marry and Ruth becomes the progenitor of both King David and Jesus Christ.[iv]
The book of Ruth is an educational illustration of how the Law of Moses instructions on how Israel should treat the stranger within Israel, integration, was supposed to work in practice. Similarly, the book of Jonah is an educational illustration of how Moses’ law of how Israel was to treat the foreign peoples outside Israel, mission, was supposed to work in practice.
However, it should be added that although the Word of God commanded the Israelites to be generous to strangers, far from all were. Ruth had to look for someone who looked at her with “favor”, which she finds in Boaz.
From Ruth we learn that even strangers can choose to believe in God and be a blessing to God’s people. But if Boaz had not listened to the Word of God to be generous to strangers, Ruth the stranger would not have been a blessing to Israel and King David would never have been born.
A society friendly to strangers arises from the combination of natives welcoming refugees, being generous with their economic abundance, including strangers into the community, and strangers in turn using the natives’ generosity as a springboard from alienation to becoming a blessing for their new community.[v]
You have read a free chapter of my book Friend of Strangers. If you like this book, please consider purchasing the ebook through Amazon. Since English is not my native language, there may be some linguistic inaccuracies. Please contact me if you find any.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[i] Ex 6:7
[ii] Dt 24:19–21
[iii] Dt 24:19
[iv] Ru 4:17
[v] Dt 24:19