Tag: Ruth

A Commentary on Judges and Ruth: a book review

While Evangelicals declare that all scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16), we do not make much space for certain books of the Old Testament in worship. Take the book of Judges. Besides the Gideon and Samson stories in children’s Bibles and Sunday school lessons, Judges is left untouched by many churches. The Sunday Revised Common Lectionary has just one reading from Judges in its three year cycle (Judges 4:1-7) which highlights Deborah, the female Judge and prophetess. Of course, this is a mere fragment of the Deborah/Barak story, ignoring the main action of the chapter (the actual battle with Sisera and his destruction at the hands of Jael). The book of Ruth fairs a little better (it is not a violent book, so the RCL is less reticent to exclude it). There are two passages included in year B (not too bad for a four-chapter-book).

But the books that are most difficult for us, and feel archaic to our modern sensibilities, sometimes have the most to teach us. Robert Chisholm does a masterful job of mining the depths of Judges and Ruth and bringing homiletic insights to working preachers. I have not read Chisholm in any substansive way before, though I did reference his From Exegesis to Exposition several times in seminary. In A Commentary on Judges and Ruth, Chisholm examines the passage through a synchronic lens, with an eye for its historical impact and literary craft. He then draws out the theological import and suggests a direction for pastors who will be preaching from the passage.

The book of Judges and Ruth occupy the same historical period in Biblical history (the time of the Judges, cf Ruth 1:1).  But their tone could not be more different. Judges describes Israel’s failure to possess the land, their repeated fall into idolatry where they ‘do evil in the eyes of the Lord,” and the way the surrounding cultures contribute the the moral decay of the nation. In the beginning of the book, when a ‘Judge’ is raised up by God in response to the people crying out and returning back to him, the Judge acts decisively to deliver the nation. Othniel (3:7-11) and Ehud (3:12-31) set the standard. However when Deborah commissions Barak to deliver the people, we see him hesitate (4:8). This hesitancy to act (or to follow) is evident in every cycle in the later part of the book (i.e. Gideon, Jepthah, Samson). When you get to Jepthah (10:6-12:15), a generally righteous judge you find that he is so affected by the surrounding culture that human sacrifice is an acceptable offering in exchange for victory (336).  Samson’s twenty year ‘rule’ is not accompanied by any sort of crying out to the LORD by the people, no one rallies around him, and he only fights the Philistines on his own whim.  The epilogue of Judges (17-21) records two episodes which evidence the moral degradation of the nation (including nationally sanctioned rape).

The tone of Ruth is much more hopeful. Naomi returns from Moab a widow who had lost her sons. Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law comes with her, though there is no prospect of an heir or a future for her there. When she goes to glean in the fields of Boaz, she is treated with kindness. When Naomi hears of it, she hatches a plot to get Ruth hitched. In the end Boaz marries Ruth and the two become the great grandparents of David (and she is included in the Messianic line of Jesus).

For each episode in these books, Chisholm presents a translation and narrative struture (noting the Hebrew syntax in his translation), discusses literary structure, exposits and discusses the message and application. The final section is where he draws out the exegetical and theological themes and points at homiletical trajectories. This is a tightly organized and well presented framework and it read well (which you can’t often say of higher level commentaries). Chisholm is a confessional scholar and so sits under the text. As an exegete, he has a sharp eye for the original context, and his exposition is helpful for drawing out a message for today which is faithful to the text. I also appreciated that he discusses at length in his comments, the degradation of the treatment of women throughout the book of Judges. He is cognizant of feminist critiques of Judges, even if his reading is much more conservative (i.e. he hints at Deborah’s appointment as Judge the result of the lack of male leadership. Though certainly the Hebrew scriptures attest elsewhere that God’s choice is not necessarily society’s choice). I appreciated his handling of the Ruth story as well (some of his translation notes are golden here!), but it his reading of Judges which garners my highest praise.

This is the second volume in the Kregel Exegetical Library I have reviewed (the first was Volume 1 of the Psalms by Allen Ross). On the strength of these two volumes, I think this is going to be an excellent commentary series. Both volumes have strong introductions, attentiveness to historical and literary forms and practical insights. I can’t recommend this commentary enough. So if you are preaching on Judges or just want to delve in for personal study, this is well worth the effort. I give it five stars: ★★★★★

Thank you to Kregel Academic for providing me with a copy of A Commentary on Judges and Ruth in exchange for my honest review. I was not asked to write a positive review, but sometimes, they are that good.

Love in Hard Times: a book review

Who doesn’t love a good prequel? It is fun to hear the back story of characters you care about and their family history (please note: Star Wars Episodes 1-3 do not qualify as a ‘good’ prequel). In the Old Testament, the book of Ruth is something of a prequel.  It is set during the time of the Judges (Ruth 1:1, AKA hard times) and it tells the story of the great grandparents of Israel’s greatest King, David. David’s great great grandmother, Naomi, was widowed in the land of Moab and her sons also died in that land. She returns to Israel with Ruth (her Moabite daughter-in-law). Ruth had left her culture, her family, her foreign gods and swears loyalty to Naomi, her people and her God, Yahweh.  Through God’s providence, Ruth ends up gleaning from a field belonging to Boaz,  Naomi’s near relative. Under Israel’s law,  Boaz is a possible Kinsman-Redeemer for Ruth and for Naomi’s land (securing the land for later descendants). After Ruth approaches Boaz according to Naomi’s plan(at night on the threshing floor), Boaz acts swiftly to make sure that Ruth and Naomi are cared for and to insure that another (closer) relative lays down his claim on Ruth and the land. Ruth and Boaz marry and they have s son named Obed and through his line comes David and eventually Jesus.

Ruth: From Bitter to Sweet by John Currid

John Currid,  professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC, has written an insightful commentary on Ruth for the Welwyn Commentary Series (Gordon Keddie wrote an earlier volume  which explored Judges and Ruth, but this is the first stand alone treatment of Ruth for this series).  He  is also a pastor at a Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church. Ruth: From Bitther to Sweet is both accessible and full of scholarly insight.

Currid looks at Ruth in five acts: Act I. 1:1-5, setting the scene; Act II. 1:6-22, Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law; Act III, in fields of  Bethlehem;  Act IV, The scene at the threshing floor; and Act V, redemption. In looking attentively at the arc of the Ruth narrative, Currid offers ‘points to ponder’ which explore the themes of the cost of disobedience, God’s sovereignty, faithful living, and redemption.

I enjoyed this short commentary. Currid is attentive to the story and presents it in a way that is sensitive to the cultural, Literary and narrative context.  He notes narrative inclusios and reputations and the meaning of Hebrew terms, but manages to write in a way which is understandable for the lay person.  His theological lens is strongly informed by his Reformed Evangelical heritage, but a focus on God’s sovereignty seems appropriate for the Ruth story.  I appreciated how his opening chapter, made the bitter struggle and hardship on Naomi  relevant to our context.  His ‘points to ponder’ which close each chapter helped underscore the significance of this story. But he doesn’t overdraw his conclusions. For example. Boaz is not pictured by Currid as Christ figure (even though he sees some Christlike aspects). Currid is judicious in his theological inferences.

I didn’t agree with Currid on every point.  He insists that the encounter between Ruth and Boaz on the threshing room floor was wholly non-sexual. I think the narrative is intentionally ambiguous at this point, but I agree that in light of the wider narrative is unlikely that Ruth and Boaz ‘had sex’ that night. I just think that the story is told with delibrate undertones and ambiguities (i.e. what all did Ruth uncover? And even if it was just the feet. . .).

But my disagreements are small and  I appreciative Currid’s insights and accessible presentation. I came away from this commentary with some new insights into the text.  Anyone could read this commentary with profit. Small group leaders doing a Bible study on Ruth or Sunday School teachers could make use of this resource. It is also a great resource for personal devotional reading (which is how I read it).

Ruth is a prequel but it is also a love story. There is the mutual love of Ruth and Boaz, but at the center there is also the relentless love of God for his people and his daughter Naomi, whom he would not allow to be called Mara (bitter) for long. Naomi tasted the sweetness of God’s plan for her and her people.

Thank you to Crossfocused Reviews and Evangelical Press Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.