Strangers in a Foreign Land: Studies in the books of Ruth and Esther

By Paul Young

This book is the true stories of two wonderful ladies who served
God in a wonderfully committed manner and brought great blessing to many people. They stand as
powerful examples to all Christian people today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798823086288

Paul Young

Paul G. Young, PhD, worked as a teacher and administrator in Ohio for more than 35 years. He taught 4th and 5th grades and served as an elementary school principal for nearly 20 years before retiring from work in the public schools. As a principal, Young played a key leadership role in the development of the West After School Center, Inc. He also served on the board of directors and as president and CEO of the National AfterSchool Association.

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© 2024 PAUL YOUNG. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   02/14/2024

ISBN: 979-8-8230-8627-1 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-8628-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024902123

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

The Book of Ruth

Chapter 1

Introduction

Famine and Bereavement (1-5)

Orpah Leaves; Ruth Cleaves (6-18)

Arrival in Bethlehem (19-22)

Chapter 2

Introduction to Boaz

Boaz Sees Ruth (1-7)

Boaz Speaks to Ruth (8-17)

Boaz’s Guardianship

Boaz’s Generosity

Ruth’s Response

Naomi’s Insight (18-23)

Lessons:

Chapter 3

A Claim to Kinship

Preparation (1-6)

Naomi’s Motive (1)

Naomi’s Knowledge (2)

Naomi’s Instructions (3-4)

Ruth’s Response (5-6)

The Threshing Floor at Night-time (7-13)

Further Thoughts

Ruth Returned to Naomi (14-18)

Chapter 4

The Shoe (1-8)

The Witnesses (9-12)

The Conclusion (13-22)

A Son is Born (13-17)

The Genealogy (18-22)

Further Reading

The Book of Esther

Chapter 1

Introduction (1-9)

Unusual Features

The Author

The General Message

The Time

The King

The Feast

A Queen Deposed (10-22)

A Request Denied (10-12)

Why did she refuse?

Consequences of Refusal

Chapter 2

A Vacancy Filled (1-20)

A Plot Uncovered (21-23)

Chapter 3

Injured Pride (1-15)

Haman

The Plot

The Decree

The Contrast

Chapter 4

Reaction to the Decree (1-17)

Jewish Distress (1-3)

Esther is Informed (4-9)

Esther’s Reluctance (10-14)

Esther’s Decision (15-17)

Chapter 5

The Queen’s Invitation (1-8)

Haman’s Emotional Ride (9-14)

Chapter 6

A Sleepless Night (1-3)

Honour for Mordecai (4-11)

Distress for Haman (12-14)

Chapter 7

Haman Accused (1-6)

Haman Condemned (7-10)

Chapter 8

Change in Status (1-2)

New Plea (3-6)

New Decree Ordered (7-10)

The New Decree Sent (11-14)

Reaction to the New Decree (15-17)

Chapter 9

Tables Turned (1-19)

Instituting a New Feast (20-32)

Chapter 10

Concluding Statements

Further Reading

Books by Paul Young

About the Author

PREFACE

This book is the result of ministering the Word of God over a period of a many months to a dedicated group of Christians from Maesteg, South Wales. We used the internet medium of Zoom and it was a rich time of fellowship, sharing, prayer and Bible study. They all seemed deeply appreciative of the ministry and I am thankful for their support and interest. Amazingly after each book was finished they wanted copies of the notes and even shared them with others. I feel greatly privileged to be granted the responsibility of sharing the Word with such wonderful Christian believers and being able to interact with them with questions and answers. We keep up to date with each other on WhatsApp and I know that they pray for my wider ministry and for the services and meetings which I conduct in various places.

It is our prayer that as the notes go out in a more permanent format they will prove to be a blessing. May they stimulate the hearts and minds of many people to greater commitment to Christ and fuller service in the cause of the Gospel.

Paul Young

INTRODUCTION

These two books in the Bible are unique as they are named after ladies. They are magnificent gems from the Old Testament which sparkle with beauty. The two ladies, Ruth and Esther, were not just physically beautiful but in character and faith they shone for the Lord. They had a deep trust in the living God and a genuine concern and loving response to the needs of others. Ruth was not born an Israelite but was adopted into the family of God. She hailed from Moab, a traditional enemy of Israel, but turned her back on that heathen, idol worshipping nation where she had grown up and gave herself unreservedly to the Lord. She was a stranger in a foreign land. Esther was an Israelite born in the foreign country of Babylon which at that time was ruled by the Medes and Persians who had over-run the empire of Babylon. She trusted God, though this is opaquely represented in the book that bears her name, and she became the saviour of her nation. She too was a stranger in a foreign land.

Both books are works of excellence and lead us to a deeper understanding of the ways of God. The Lord works in the background and draws the various strands of activities and personalities to a beautiful and wonderful conclusion. We thank God for these two women who achieved so much even in days when women were largely second class citizens with little in the way of legal protection. Esther and Ruth rose to positions in society of prominence and importance and that was despite the disadvantages which might have hindered such progress. Esther was an orphan brought up by a family member and Ruth was a childless widow who followed her mother-in- law to Bethlehem. Both ladies rightly deserve praise and shine out to us as powerful examples of what God can do in lives which are devoted to him.

May we take up the challenge to let our lives count for God which may involve sacrifice, much prayer, many setbacks and disappointments and a need to keep going even when it seems impossible to do so. God’s call is what matters and fulfilling our calling the most vital aspect for us as Christians today.

The Book

of Ruth

Chapter 1

Introduction

This short book in the Old Testament which consists of just four chapters made up of 85 verses is a sparkling gem placed at the end of the Book of Judges. It is a remarkable book that reveals faith, commitment and transformation. The historical setting as verse 1 makes clear is the time of the Judges. This was the period in Israel’s history from entry into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua to the rise of the monarchy. It covered a period of time of about four hundred years and it was at times turbulent. It has sometimes been called the Dark Ages in Israel’s history. It was not a settled time.

Israel had invaded the land and conquered the cities and each tribe had been allocated their particular area but there was no real unity in the nation. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes and often the people turned to idol worship and forgot the true God who had led them out of Egyptian slavery, through the wilderness and into the Land of Promise. The result was that during that period successive waves of foreign nations overran the country and oppressed the people of God. In their desperation they turned to God in repentance and cried out to Him for help. In response the Lord sent a military deliverer who was known as a Judge and the enemy was driven out and the land had peace and focused on God at least for the time the judge lived and led them. There were thirteen judges mentioned of which six were very powerful and prominent: Othneil, Ehud, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson.

Ehud lived in the time when the Moabites invaded Israel from the east. Moab was a nation that had descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot through an incestuous relationship with his daughter and so Moab was a sort of ‘sister’ nation to Israel. The Moabites inhabited the plains of good agricultural land to the east of the Dead Sea. They had invaded Israel in a confederacy with two other nations: Amalek and Ammon. Ammon was another nation that descended from Lot through an incestuous relationship with his other daughter. In both cases Lot was tricked into sexual relations by his daughters as they wanted to raise up children in the name of their father. The leader of the invading confederacy was an exceeding large man named Eglon and he set up his headquarters amongst the ruins of Jericho and oppressed the people of Israel for eighteen years. Eventually Ehud assassinated Eglon and led Israel in rebellion against the Moabites and their confederacy and delivered the nation from oppression and ushered in a time of peace and prosperity for Israel.

That is the background to the book of Ruth. Geoffrey Bull wrote a commentary on the Book of Ruth and entitled it, Love-song in the Harvest. It is a beautifully written book and well worth reading. He sets the story of Ruth in the time of the Moabite invasion and that is why maybe there was movement by a family from Bethlehem to the country of Moab. Derek Bingham wrote a very short book about Ruth and gave it almost three titles: Ruth A Foreigner Redeemed; Amidst Alien Corn; An Epic Love Story with Secrets for Living.

Just by way of introduction we can remember that Ruth is highly regarded in Scripture even though she was not born into the household of Israel. She was born a Moabitess not an Israelite. Yet she is mentioned in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew’s Gospel and is one of three ladies mentioned by name and all three are Gentiles. There was Tamar, Rahab and Ruth. They are given highly significant status by being mothers of sons in the line of descent that led directly to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Ruth is the only Gentile to have a book named after her in the Old Testament. Her name is prominent in the book but there are more references to Naomi and so this book is as much a focus on Naomi as it is on Ruth. It was the loving and devoted relationship between these two ladies that brings out the wonderful blessings as the story unfolds. Also we can note that of the eighty-five verses about fifty of them are taken up with dialogue and so it is obvious that the writer prefers to tell this wonderful story through conversation.

We can also note that the book commences with one man who leads his family away from the Promised Land into a heathen country. Little is said about him and he dies in that foreign land and we hear no more about him. The book ends with another man who had remained faithful to the Lord by staying in the Promised Land and he was blessed with wealth, marriage and a son and became part of the line of descent that led to our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Famine and Bereavement (1-5)

Chapter one commences with a famine but ends with a harvest. The time between those two events was ten years (4) and much occurred in those intervening years. Straightaway we are given the historical context and it was in the time of the Judges (1) and that is why the book of Ruth comes directly after the book of Judges. It was a time of difficulty because there was a famine in the land and food was in short supply. This could mean that the rains had failed and so the crops were sparse and returns from the ground were very little but it might also imply that the oppressors were seizing any food that was found and so the problems the Israelites faced were compounded.

After the historical context we are then informed of the geographical location and it is very precise. The town was Bethlehem-judah. In Israel there were two places with the name Bethlehem. One was found in the north of the country in the tribal area of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). The second was in central Israel and was located in the tribal territory of Judah. It is not mentioned in the allocation of tribal areas in the book of Joshua but it was known to some extent in the book of Genesis as the place where Rachel, Jacob’s wife died and was buried (Genesis 35). Its former name was Ephrath and it was called ‘Bethlehem-judah’ to distinguish it from the northern town of that name.

Bethlehem means ‘house of bread’ and was a crop growing area and so it is ironic that there was a famine in the place of bread. Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and his descendants formed the tribe of Judah which became the most powerful in the nation. Judah’s name means ‘praise’. The situation must have got so bad that Elimelech left his ancestral farm and moved with his family eastward out of the country of Israel and emigrated and relocated in the land of Moab. The subsequent events seem to indicate that this was not