Ruth; 1 Samuel 1

The lesson this week is about three remarkable women: Naomi, her daughter-in-law Ruth, and Hannah. We will focus on Naomi and Ruth because my guess is that’s where most Gospel Doctrine teachers are also going to focus. I doubt anyone will get to Hannah before the second bell rings (which is too bad, because you could have a great discussion about adoption starting from Hannah’s decision to let Eli the priest raise Samuel after Samuel was weaned).

Ruth was a Moabitess (see “Moab” in the Bible Dictionary, p. 733). Two of the verses setting up the story are especially interesting to me:

· In Ruth 1:8, Naomi says, “Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.”

· In verse 15, after Orpah has kissed her mother in law, cried, and gone back to the family she was born into, Naomi says to Ruth, “Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.” Ruth then expresses her loyalty to Naomi in verses that are among the most beautiful (and famous) in scripture (vv. 16–17).

I am also interested in another verse later on, when Ruth and Boaz are talking for the first time. Ruth, when thanking Boaz for his kindness to her, knows that she is different from the women of Bethlehem; she says to Boaz in Ruth 2:13, “Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.”

When I consider these verses, two observations are apparent to me:

1. Ruth and Naomi come from two different cultures and religions. The fact that they love each other and help each other is not an accident: it is a heartfelt choice.

2. Everything good that happens in this story happens because of genuine warmth and kindness on an individual level.

In turn, these two observations seem much more relevant and important to me when I consider what is going on currently with respect to conflicting cultures within the United States, or for that matter, within the world. I suspect that it isn’t so much that there is really any more diversity than there ever has been, but we do seem to have an increased ability to affect each other’s lives. I don’t know how it is where you live, but I do know that Salt Lake City is a much different city now than it was when I was growing up. And the changes are clearly not done. Newsweek devoted its April 10, 2006 cover to the issue of illegal immigration, for example, and I have been seeing more and more stories in the newspaper having to do with cultural and religious challenges within the United States. Turning slightly to look at other possibilities for discussion, one can also consider China’s increasing impact on the United States, or the entire can of worms currently known as the war on terrorism.

I guess the only other thing that really stands out in this lesson is how well Boaz treated Ruth. Boaz seems to have been a rarity: a wealthy man who was willing to decrease his profit so that someone far less fortunate than himself could continue to live. It seemed to me as I was listening to the 176th Annual General Conference, held at the beginning of April 2006, that the LDS Church is putting increased emphasis on service, especially in severely disadvantaged countries. This is a great thing. However, it is also important to remember that the likelihood someone gets help from us should not depend on that person’s being half a world a way from us.

Sunday School Notebook -May 2006 - Susan Morgan