that God might show them ways and means of averting the entire destruction of the tribe of Benjamin. V. 4. And it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose early, and built there an altar, large enough for their purpose, and offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings, for they realized that the plans which they had could not be realized without a full reconciliation with the Lord, which meant, of course, a full return to the fellowship of His mercy. V. 5. And the children of Israel said, realizing that there might be a way out of their difficulty, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the Lord, to take part in this campaign of vengeance? For they had made a great oath, which included the threat of death upon every one that did not appear, concerning him that came not up to the Lord at Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. V. 6. And the children of Israel (had) repented them, they had been filled with deep sympathy and care for the rebuilding of the tribe of Benjamin, for Benjamin, their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. V. 7. How shall we do for wives for them that remain, whence and how could wives be provided for them, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? These two factors, that of the oath and that of the possible non-appearance of some part of the tribes, having been set forth, the author continues his narrative. V. 8. And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that come not up to Mizpeh to the Lord? And, behold, when they made careful inquiry, a thing which they had neglected to do in their first indignation and zeal, there came, had come, none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, a city of the valley east of Jordan, about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, to the assembly. V. 9. For the people were numbered, to make sure that this report was true, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there. V. 10. And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, especially renowned among men known for their valor, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, as a punishment for their neglect in joining the congregation of the Lord in this important enterprise, with the women and the children. V. 11. And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man, in carnal intercourse. V. 12. And they, the men of the expedition, found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male; and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, where it had been removed,

now that the campaign had been brought to a close, which is in the land of Canaan, to distinguish it from Jabesh in Gilead. V. 13. And the whole congregation sent some, envoys, to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them, to assure them of their peaceful intentions. V. 14. And Benjamin came again at that time, the six hundred men that had escaped returned to the land of their inheritance; and they, the congregation gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, the four hundred virgins; and yet so they sufficed them not, for there were still two hundred men to be supplied. One step had been taken for the restoration of the tribe, but there was still more to be done.

BENJAMITES

WIVES FOR THE REMAINING FROM THE DAUGHTERS OF SHILOH.-V. 15. And the people repented them, they were again filled with anxious care, for Benjamin, because that the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel, since this one tribe had been almost exterminated. V. 16. Then the elders of the congregation said, in discussing other possibilities of securing wives for the remaining Benjamites, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? So far as the members of their tribe were concerned, there were no women for them. V. 17. And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, ways and means had to be found to that end, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. V. 18. Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters; for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. V. 19. Then they said, as an expedient was finally suggested to them, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly, year after year, in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem and on the south of Lebonah, this detailed description being added for the sake of the Benjamites, who might thus reach the designated locality without attracting attention. V. 20. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; v. 21. and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, at the designated time, probably the festival of the Passover, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, the virgin which he intended to make his wife, and go to the land of Benjamin. V. 22. And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, to make this robbery of the virgins a court case, that we will say unto them, Be

JUDGES 21, 23-25.

445

favorable unto them for our sakes, because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war; for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. This has been transcribed as follows: "Be quiet and gentle; give the maidens kindly to us. You know that we did not take them in war, as booty, as, for instance, at Jabesh. We have indeed allowed them to be taken (for which no grudge is to be held against Benjamin); but in peace, not for injury; and as you did not give them, no guilt attaches to you." (Lange.) V. 23. And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught, a total of two hundred virgins; and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, which had been burned down, and dwelt in them. V. 24.

And the children of Israel, all those who had been engaged in the campaign of punishment against Benjamin, departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance. V. 25. In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes, a notice once more inserted by the author, in order to intimate that such things would probably not have happened if there had been a strong central government dispensing justice in the entire nation. Just as the congregation of Israel accepted the remaining Benjamites after they had been punished and acknowledged their wrong, so a Christian congregation will remit the sins of the penitent sinners when they apply for readmission to the Lord's assembly.

This short book, "the idyl of David's greatgrandmother," tells the charming story of Ruth the Moabitess, who lived in the days when the Judges ruled in Israel, a more exact fixing of the time being almost impossible. "One of the sweetest stories in the Bible, showing that even in the blackest period God has men and women who love and serve Him. In Boaz we have the model rich man of his age; every act and word shows his deep faith in God. In Ruth we have an example of modesty and patience, coupled with a remarkable belief in the true God. In Naomi we have a specimen of a good woman, whose religion shows itself in fidelity to all her duties." (Sell.) "One chief purpose of the book seems to be the tracing of the genealogy of David to the Moabitess Ruth, whose name it bears." (Robertson.) "This information gains in significance if we remember that the genealogy of David is at the same time that of Jesus Christ. The

story therefore goes to show how Ruth the Moabitess, by birth an alien to Israel, was chosen to become an ancestress of the Savior. Her reception into the communion of Israel also testified to the fact that even in the days before Christ Gentiles might be admitted to the kingdom of God if only they received the promises of the covenant in true faith. As the genealogy here recorded ends with David's name, it is improbable that the book should have been written before David had become a person of influence and renown among the people of the covenant. We find an additional reason for this assumption in chap. 4, 7, where the author explains a peculiar custom, which had fallen into disuse in his days. The author remains unknown to us; but it has been suggested that David himself might well have penned this account of a significant episode in his family history," and the record concerning Christ's ancestors was thus completed.

Ruth Accompanies Naomi to Bethlehem. ELIMELECH AND NAOMI IN THE COUNTRY OF MOAB. V. 1. Now, it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, some hundred and fifty years before the reign of David, that there was a famine in the land, an affliction threatened by the Lord, Deut. 28, 22—24, and sent from time to time as a punishment of Israel's iniquity in committing idolatry. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah, the town afterward famous as the birthplace

of our Lord, went to sojourn, to live as an alien, in the country of Moab, literally, "in the fields"; for the entire territory was conceived to have been divided into fields for agricultural purposes, he, and his wife, and his two sons. It may well have been that importations of grain from Egypt were cut off by the hostility of the Philistines, and that the inhabitants of Judah, therefore, were almost obliged to turn to the country east of the Dead Sea, although the Moabites belonged to

the ancient enemies of Israel. V. 2. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah, natives of the region, Ephratah being the ancient name of the city and its vicinity. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there, they were there for some time. V. 3. And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left and her two sons. The first affliction which befell her was that her husband died in the strange country. V. 4. And they took them wives of the women of Moab, an act surely not in conformity with Deut. 23, 3. 4, although the Moabites are not expressly mentioned Deut. 7,3; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelled there about ten years; that was the total length of the sojourn of Naomi. Although the sojourn of this Jewish family in the Moabite country did not prove productive of the blessings which they had anticipated, as the undertaking evidently was not in accordance with the will of God, yet the result was one highly beneficial to at least one of the Moabite women, so that, by God's merciful kindness, it served a great end. V. 5. And Mahlon and Chilion died also, both of them, Naomi thus having neither husband, sons, nor property, nor were there grandchildren. And the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. Thus God often lays a cross upon His children and chastises them severely, in order to bind them more securely to Himself.

THE RETURN OF NAOMI WITH RUTH. — V. 6. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for it was understood that the younger women were merely to accompany her for some distance, perhaps to the boundary of the country; for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited His people, in mercy, in giving them bread, in delivering them from the ravages of the famine. V. 7. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, where she had been an alien, where she had not been at home, and her two daughtersin-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah, they took the road leading to Canaan. V. 8. And Naomi said unto her daughters-in-law, after they had traversed some distance, Go, return each to her mother's house, the usual place of refuge for young widows; the Lord deal kindly with you, in showng them merciful kindness, as ye have dealt with the dead and with me. The relation of these former heathen women, not only toward their husbands, but also toward their mother-in-law had been one of the most tender affection and service, a model, in this respect, to this very day and hour. V. 9. The Lord grant you

that ye may find rest, quiet and safe happiness, an asylum of honor and freedom, each of you in the house of her husband, in a second happy marriage. Then she kissed them, as the signal of parting; and they lifted up their voice and wept, unwilling to leave Naomi, whom they had learned to love so dearly. V. 10. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. They found the parting so hard that they preferred to stay with Naomi on her solitary walk through life. V. 11. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters; why will ye go with me? It was her great love for them which prompted her to deter them, if possible. Are there yet any more sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? She was not pregnant with possible sons, who would then be able to perform the duty of levirs toward Ruth and Orpah, Deut. 25, 5; Gen. 38, 8. V. 12. Turn again, my daughters, go your way; her love was great enough to bear the sacrifice of their parting with her, since she had only their happiness in mind; for I am too old to have an husband, she was past the age when the normal consequence of marriage might be expected. If I should say, I have hope, if she should expect the apparently impossible to happen, if I should have an husband also to-night, and should also bear sons, v. 13. would ye tarry for them, hope to be married to them, till they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having husbands? Should they let this very uncertain possibility keep them from becoming happily married in their own country? Nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your sakes, that was the bitterest drop in her cup of sorrow, that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me, in taking both her husband and her sons. did not even mention another possibility, namely, that of a marriage in the land of Judah, for her delicacy kept her from mentioning what would probably prove a disappointment, since the sentiment in Israel was strongly against marriages also with Moabites, Deut. 7, 3. 4. V. 14. And they lifted up their voice and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, convinced that the way pointed out by her was the best; but Ruth clave unto her, clinging to her all the more V. 15. closely now that Orpah was leaving.

She

Na

And she, Naomi, said, Behold, thy sisterin-law is gone back unto her people and unto her gods, for the one implied the other; return thou after thy sister-in-law. omi's love for Ruth was so great that she desired her earthly welfare even at the sacrifice of her company. V. 16. And Ruth said, as the climax of a scene of wonderful delicacy and unequaled tenderness, in a rivalry of affection which is without a parallel in human annals, Intreat me not to leave thee or to

return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people and thy God my God; v. 17. where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried. She will not be swerved from her intention to cast her lot with that of Naomi. It was not the affection of a daughter to her natural mother nor that of a wife to the husband of her choice, but it was her love toward Naomi which had knit their hearts together. And the highest stage of the devotion which she yielded to Naomi for life was reached in the confession that she had found the God of Israel to be the true God, a fact which implied the highest unity of spirit. The Lord, Jehovah, do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. It was an oath inviting the severest penalty on the part of Jehovah if Ruth should prove fickle in her affection and devotion. V. 18. When she, Naomi, saw that she was steadfastly minded, that her resolution was unshakable, to go with her, then she left speaking unto her, she no longer attempted to dissuade her. V. 19. So they two went until they came to Bethlehem, the end of their journey. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, there was great excitement on account of their return, and they, chiefly the women, said, Is this Naomi? It was not a cry of surprise over the fact that she was still alive, but rather an expression of sympathy that she had returned bereft of both husband and sons. V. 20. And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi (lovely, gracious), call me

Mara

(bitter); for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me, He had inflicted sorrow upon her, as her obvious bereavement showed; the God of fruitfulness and life had withheld His blessings from her. V. 21. I went out full, rich, as a wife and mother, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty, with neither husband nor sons; why, then, call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, had declared Himself her opponent by depriving her of her loved ones, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? God had made sorrow her portion, to teach her to trust in Him all the more implicitly. V. 22. So Naomi returned, such was the nature of her return to the city of her fathers, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-inlaw, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab. The curiosity of the Bethlehemites was satisfied, and their interest soon died down, since Naomi had sunk into poverty and no longer could take her place with the influential people of the town; but Ruth remained faithful, standing by her mother-inlaw in her misery. And they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley-harvest, about the latter part of March or the beginning of April, fortunate for them, since they were now dependent upon the portion of the poor to get a livelihood, Lev. 19, 9. 10; 23, 22. Thus Ruth, in denying herself the advantages which she might have had in her home country, became a partaker of the blessings of the true God. Whenever we are placed before a decision such as she made, the way which points to the service and worship of the true God must be our choice without hesitation, for in Him we find the eternal blessings of His mercy.

Ruth the Gleaner.

IN THE FIELD OF BOAZ. — V. 1. And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a relative by marriage, according to Jewish tradition a nephew of Elimelech, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. His ability and influence were freely recognized in the community, both in war and peace. V. 2. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field and glean ears of corn, of grain, after him in whose sight I shall find grace. That was a privilege granted to the very poor, to widows and orphans by the precepts of Moses, Lev. 23, 22; Deut. 24, 19, but it must have been a rather bitter experience to one unaccustomed to charity, especially since the permission was not always given in good grace by the harvesters. But Ruth's love for Naomi was sincere and faithful; she was ready to brave the ordeal. And she, Naomi, said unto her, Go, my daughter, for she was

now utterly dependent upon the efforts of her daughter-in-law. V. 3. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers, gathering up the ears that fell aside when the harvesters bound up the sheaves; and her hap was, it was a providential happening for her, to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. Unacquainted with the neighborhood as she was, she simply turned her footsteps to the first field she struck, but God guided her in her selection. V. 4. And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, to oversee the harvesting, and said unto the reapers, in a greeting which might be copied oftener, The Lord be with you! And they, as the laudable custom of the country required, answered him, The Lord bless thee! If the excellent relationship between employers and employees which this exchange of greetings implied obtained everywhere, there would be no need of arbitration committees between capital

and labor. V. 5. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, the foreman of the harvesters, Whose damsel is this? Being familiar with all the families in the entire neighborhood, he wanted to know to which of these she belonged. V. 6. And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab; v. 7. and she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves; so she came and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house, she had not even taken time to rest, so busy had she been. So the overseer praised both the humility and the diligence of Ruth, including the propriety and the reserve of her demeanor. It appears, then, that Boaz freely permitted the poor to glean on his fields, and that his overseer had taken his cue from his master, feeling very kindly disposed toward those in need, especially if they were, as in this case, humble and respectful. V. 8. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, on the strength of the fine testimonial given her by the overseer, Hearest thou not, my daughter? He wanted to be sure that she followed his kind directions without hesitation. Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, for she modestly stayed at a distance from the reapers and binders, but abide here fast by my maidens, the women-servants who bound up the cut grain in sheaves; v. 9. let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, right behind the binders, where the gleaning would be most productive, and go thou after them. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? For they may occasionally have indulged in some rudeness toward the poor gleaners. And when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, placed there for the use of the workmen, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Although Boaz was undoubtedly aware of a certain relationship between himself and this poor woman, he practises no condescension, he assumes no patronizing air, but protects her interests in a manner which would not hurt. V. 10. Then she fell on her face, bowing down deeply, so as to touch the ground with her forehead, in recognition of his kindness, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, notice her at all, seeing I am a stranger? She felt unworthy of the kind interest which he was showing in her, especially since she was not even a member of the people of Israel. V. 11. And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath been fully showed me, he had been given full information, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-inlaw since the death of thine husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy

mother and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. She had had a home and parents living as well, all that she needed for earthly happinness; but all this she had left for an unknown country, with people that were strangers to her. It was not only devotion to her mother-in-law, as Boaz very well knew, but faith in the God of Israel which had determined Ruth's course. V. 12. The Lord, whom Ruth had chosen as her God, recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust, to take refuge. The words of Boaz reveal the truly pious mind of this chief among his brethren. He looks to Jehovah to reward Ruth as richly and abundantly as her love and its expression merited, so that she would miss nothing of that which she had left behind in the line of earthly blessings, but recover them all and more. "In his words there is undeniably the breathing of a pious, national consciousness, such as becomes an Israelitish familyhead and hero in the presence of a recent proselyte to his faith and people." V. 13. Then she said, with the same modesty which characterized her behavior throughout, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly, literally, "to the heart,” unto thine handmaid, though, as she adds in restriction of her apparent boldness in daring to place herself on a level with his servants, I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens, not in that relationship of service to him that she might have earned his kind regard. V. 14. And Boaz, still more favorably disposed toward her on account of her humility, said unto her, At meal-time come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar, the food which was supplied to the laborers, bread and roasted grain or parched corn, the former being dipped into a refreshing drink, consisting of vinegar and water, perhaps with a little olive oil. And she sat beside the reapers; and he, partaking himself of the simple meal, reached her parched corn, grain roasted in the ear, and she did eat, and was sufficed, she had her fill, and left, the uneaten quantity being carefully saved for her mother-in-law. V. 15. And when she was risen up to glean, even before the others returned to work, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, not only at a distance in the rear, and reproach her not, not in any way interfere with her or heap shame upon her; v. 16. and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, purposely pulling out some stalks from the bound sheaves, and leave them that she may glean them, and rebuke her not, by speaking harshly to her. V. 17. So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had