We are continuing our study on Ruth. Last week we learned the importance of supporting, and caring for our family, just like Ruth took care of Naomi. 

Did you know that Ruth wasn’t ever supposed to marry an Israelite to begin with?

Ruth was an Outcast  

According to Jewish law, Ruth was considered unclean and unfit for marriage (at least marriage to a Jew). The Lord told the people of Israel right before they entered the promise land, 

“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 

As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭23‬:‭3‬, ‭6‬ ‭(NLT)‬‬

The Moabites and Ammonites were one of many groups who God forbid the people of Israel from marrying and intermingling with. 

God knew that the hearts of his people can be fickle. If they started marrying people from nations who did not worship the one true God, they would be easily swayed to worship idols. After all, idols were something they could use their physical senses to see, touch, smell, etc. 

In fact when the Israelites were about to go into the promised land, God had some direction for them regarding intermarrying with the surrounding nations:

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you…then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 

or they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

They were forbidden to make covenants, which included specifically marrying. Why? Because they would turn from worshipping God and would start worshipping the gods of those nations. 

Sadly, we see how time and time again when God’s people failed to obey his commands when it came to this. We see in the book of Judges how the people would sin by worshipping false gods, they would reap what they sowed by going into slavery by that evil nation, then they would repent, and God would save them from their adversaries. 

The Moabites Enslaved the Israelites

We see an example of a time when God’s people turned their backs on God and started serving idols. 

“And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Judges‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

I love this story. I remember learning about this when I was in 7th grade. I find it so fascinating how God always uses such creative ways to save his people when they choose to serve him with their whole hearts. 

Summary of Ehud and King Eglon

You can read the whole story for yourself in Judges 3. To summarize, Eglon was a fat king of Moab. The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, and as a result the Moabites dominated over them for a period of time. 

Eventually, God raised up Ehud to defeat King Eglon and free God’s people. Ehud happened to be a lefty. He went to King Eglon and told him he had a secret message for him. 

Ehud and King Eglon went into the king’s chambers and Ehud took the hidden knife and killed Eglon. The Bible says that the hilt of the knife was closed over by all the fat from Eglon. 

Ehud left and told the guards that the king was relieving himself. The guards stood there waiting for the king to finish his business. They waited until it was an embarrassing amount of time and finally went in to check on the king only to find him dead. 

God is the redeemer. He redeemed the nation of Israel by creating a left handed man! 

How the Moabites Came to Be  

Do you believe God can redeem anything? How about children created out of incest? Does everything really turn out for the good of those whom he calls like Romans 8:28 says? I believe this. 

Let’s take a look at how the Moabites, Ruth’s bloodline came to be:

If you recall, Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was living in the city of Sodom when God decided it was wicked enough to destroy. God sent some angels to go rescue Lot and his family from the destruction. In the end, only Lot and his two daughters came out unscathed. The three of them went to a cave to live for a time. 

“Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 

So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 

So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 

The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day. Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭30‬-‭38‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Have you heard the song I’m my own Grandpa? Lot could almost say that about himself!

As both father and grandfather of his daughters’ sons he becomes his own father not to mention his own brother in law. 

The Moabites came into existence because of incest and rape. Yet, we see years and years later a woman was born out of this detestable union who would be called Ruth. Ruth was a woman who chose to turn away from the evil that came from her bloodline and be immersed into God’s bloodline. 

We are going to pause here for this week. Next week we will continue this series and take a look at how God actually did redeem the incest that resulted in the creation of the Moabites. I hope you will join me!

Part 1