These exhortations were given by me between 1999 and 2005. That was a long time ago, and I have grown a lot since then. They may not reflect my current beliefs.

An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

This commandment, from Deuteronomy 23, is simple enough. An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. Deuteronomy 23 is one of those turgid passages from the Law of Moses. It is densely packed with rules and regulations, and it is very easy to skim across those words without realising their impact. If you are a Moabite, you cannot enter into the congregation of the LORD.

And Naomi said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, 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: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

Ruth was a Moabite. Naomi should have said “Sorry, you are a Moabite. Under Deuteronomy 23 verse 3, Moabites are not welcome as part of Israel. We appreciate your loyalty, but really, its not on.”

That’s not what happened though. Naomi took Ruth back to Israel with her. Ruth was subsequently married to Boaz, who knew she was a Moabite. Boaz didn’t quote Deuteronomy 23 at her either.

Here we have a very clear violation of the Law of Moses by two people who should have known better. Ruth should have been rejected, but instead she was accepted, welcomed into the congregation of Israel.

Generally, particularly early on in the Old Testament, defying the Law of Moses in such an explicit way results in immediate punishment. God does not punish Naomi, God does not punish Ruth and God does not punish Boaz. Naomi, Ruth and Boaz are then blessed with the birth of a child. This child, Jesse, is certainly not ten generations away from a Moabite, yet he too is accepted by Israel. Jesse, of course, was the father of David, the man after God’s own heart.

There are two attitudes that you could take to parts of the law like Deuteronomy. You could take them as absolutes. No Moabites for 10 generations. Ruth is therefore unacceptable. Or you could take them as teaching you something. They were there to make you think and consider the principles behind them.

If you take the first point of view, then the acceptance of Ruth and her descendants was a blatant violation of the Law of Moses. The alternative understanding of the law makes sense here.

An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

The Moabites are excluded because of the way they treated the children of Israel on their way out of Egypt – not just because they are Moabites. They are excluded because of an attitude that they and their descendants share. It follows then that a Moabite who doesn’t have that attitude is not to be excluded.

And Naomi said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, 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:

Ruth displayed a completely non-Moabite attitude. She rejected the people and Gods of Moab, accepting the God of Israel. She didn’t display the attitude that lead to exclusion, so she was not excluded.

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Or as Christ put it:

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The law that prohibited Moabites from joining the Israelites had a much deeper meaning; it was about excluding those who had a certain attitude, not those who had a certain ancestry. The knowledge of God lead to mercy, mercy that was shown to Ruth and her descendants. By the letter of the law, Ruth, Jesse, David, and Solomon would all have been excluded from the congregation of Israel.

The law of Moses is a schoolmaster, a teacher, to bring us into Christ. An Ammonite or Moabite may not enter into Israel, because they met the Israelites with hostility, not because they were somehow repugnant in themselves. Turning your back on that hostility, that attitude, was all that Ruth had to do to be accepted. We need to understand the schoolmaster rather than slavishly following the letter of the teachings.