Day 49 Reading Schedule: Judges 20-21,Ruth1-3

Judges 20: The Assembly of Israel and the Tribe of Benjamin 

[Summary]

This chapter records the civil war in Israel that broke out due to the accusation sent by the Levite to each tribe after his concubine was murdered by the Gibeah rabbis. After hearing the accusation from the Levite, the representatives of each tribe gathered to investigate the situation and decided to form an alliance to attack the tribe of Benjamin (vv. 1-11). However, the tribe of Benjamin refused the alliance's request to hand over the culprits and instead attacked first (vv. 12-16). When the civil war finally broke out, the numerically inferior tribe of Benjamin continued to win (vv. 17-25). At this time, the defeated alliance offered peace offerings to God together with the high priest Phinehas, securing the promise of victory (vv. 26-28). Finally, the alliance defeated the tribe of Benjamin in the third battle and achieved a great victory. The allied forces annihilated the tribe of Benjamin with great momentum, and only six hundred of the tribe of Benjamin escaped into the wilderness to survive. In this way, this chapter clearly shows how moral corruption destroys a community.

The incident of the Levite concubine's assault by the Gibeah scoundrels spread throughout Israel in an instant. This was because the Levite cut the concubine's body into 12 pieces and sent them to the 12 tribes of Israel to appeal for punishment. Thus, the 11 tribes of Israel, excluding the tribe of Benjamin to which Gibeah belonged, gathered at Mizpah to punish Benjamin. The text shows the tragedy of fratricide between the tribe of Benjamin, which was excluded from this process, and the 11 tribes of Israel. If the tribe of Benjamin had punished the Gibeah scoundrels, this incident could have been prevented in advance. However, the people of Benjamin supported the Gibeah scoundrels, and eventually met a miserable end.

Judges 21: The Restoration of the Tribe of Benjamin 

[Summary]

This chapter records the efforts of the Israelite community to preserve the tribe of Benjamin, which was in danger of extinction due to a crushing defeat by the Allied Forces. After the civil war, the other tribes who had sworn to refrain from marrying the tribe of Benjamin regretted seeing the tribe of Benjamin in danger of extinction (verses 1-7). The entire tribe, which was looking for a way to preserve the tribe of Benjamin, first gave the four hundred virgins they had obtained in the battle of Jabesh Gilead to the six hundred Benjamites who had escaped to the wilderness and survived (verses 8-15). When that was not enough, they solved all the problems by forcibly kidnapping women who came out to dance on the festival day and taking them as wives (verses 16-24).

The text contains the content that concludes the tragedy of the previous fratricide with the tribe of Benjamin. The tribe of Benjamin, which supported Gibeah's rebellion and ended up fighting the Israelite allies, was on the verge of losing almost all of its men. Furthermore, because the Israelites had sworn not to give their daughters to the men of the tribe of Benjamin, the community of Israel was eventually put in danger of losing one tribe. Eventually, the Israelites began to regret it greatly. This was because the loss of one tribe in the community of Israel ultimately meant the collapse of God's entire holy community. Therefore, the Israelites pondered and discussed in order to resolve this difficult situation, and the text introduces countermeasures for the tribe of Benjamin, which was on the verge of extinction, along with the process of this discussion.

Ruth 1: Naomi and Ruth 

[Summary]

This book is set in the era of the judges, which was stained with unbelief and turbulent life. Among them, this chapter reminds us of the importance of faith that the covenant people must keep through the rise and fall of a family. Elimelech's family, who went down to Moab during a famine, lost all the men there, leaving only his mother-in-law and daughters-in-law (verses 1-5). Finally, Naomi, the mother-in-law, regretted leaving the land of the covenant and wanted to return to her hometown, leaving her two daughters-in-law who were foreign women. At this time, the eldest daughter-in-law remained in Moab (verses 6-14). However, the younger daughter-in-law Ruth abandoned her thoughts, religion, and relatives and followed her mother-in-law (verses 15-18). Finally, the two women arrived in their hometown of Bethlehem and repented for leaving their hometown while receiving comfort from the people (verses 19-22).

This chapter shows the sad life adversity of Naomi, an unfortunate woman who lived in Bethlehem in Judah. ​​There must be a reason why the life adversity of a woman was recorded in the Bible like this. So let’s examine what kind of lesson this chapter gives to us believers.

Ruth 2: The Meeting of Boaz and Ruth 

[Summary]

This chapter records the incident in which Ruth, who followed Naomi to Bethlehem, meets Boaz, who would become the ancestor of the Messiah. After arriving in Bethlehem, Ruth, who was gleaning grain in the fields to make a living, happened to meet Boaz (verses 1-7). Boaz, who knew Ruth’s story, especially welcomed her and made the reapers shed a lot of grain for her (verses 8-16). When Naomi heard this story from Ruth when she returned home, she realized that Boaz was their business scapegoat and told Ruth not to go to other fields but to glean only in that one place (verses 17-23). ​​

The text describes in detail Ruth’s life in Israel as she followed her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Indeed, life in a foreign land was not easy for Ruth, a foreigner who followed her mother-in-law who had lost her husband. However, Ruth never neglected to take good care of her mother-in-law and be filial even in Israel.

Ruth 3: Naomi's Consideration for Ruth 

[Summary]

Following the previous chapter that recorded the dramatic meeting between Ruth and Boaz, this chapter shows the process in which the marriage between Ruth and Boaz was promoted in earnest by her mother-in-law Naomi. Naomi ordered her daughter-in-law Ruth to visit Boaz on the day of the barley threshing and ask him to take responsibility for the redemption of the estate (verses 1-5). Ruth followed Naomi's instructions, dressed neatly, covered herself with a blanket at Boaz's feet at night, and lay down beside him. When Boaz learned of this, he was impressed by Ruth's obedience to his mother-in-law's words and promised that he would redeem the estate if there was no one among his closest relatives who could redeem it (verses 6-13). Boaz gave Ruth food and had her return home secretly at dawn. Naomi, who heard the whole story from Ruth, urged her not to let anyone know until the matter was settled (verses 14-18).

[Lecture]

The text shows in detail and gently the process of Ruth and Boaz gradually becoming a couple. This process clearly and distinctly shows how God gives abundant blessings to an obedient and self-sacrificing woman. Now, through the text, let us see the process of blessing Ruth, a foreign woman, entering the blessed genealogy of Christ.