The Great Identity Problem: The Moabitess
The first part of our identity series on the Practical Theology Corner has been focused on what Genesis 1-3 tells us about identity. This next part is going to be looking at two examples of Old Testament books of the Bible that have to do with identity heavily.
The first example that we are going to look at is Ruth. Ruth is a great book to look at when studying identity. Ruth is from Moab, while most of the other people in the book are from Israel. Throughout Ruth 1 in particular, there is a contrast built up between Naomi, the Israelite, from the tribe of Judah, and Ruth, the Moabite woman.
Being a Moabite was not seen as a positive thing. Moab was made up of the descendants of Lot and his oldest daughter after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. The beginnings of Moab can be found in Genesis 19.
The Moabites were seen as cousins of the Israelites. Yet, they did not follow God and instead, they worshiped idols. The Moabites were seen as “less than” because of their lack of faith in God. Yet, what is clear in Ruth 1 is that national identity or personal background does not define someone’s God-given identity. In other words, despite Ruth’s background, her faith in God is real.
Ruth’s identity is not about what country she is from, or what her position in life is. Throughout Ruth, Ruth goes from a Moabite woman married to an Israelite to a widow who is facing limited financial hope in Israel before ending up married to Boaz. Ruth is a great example of an identity truth- our identity does not come from man, or from our circumstances; our identity comes from God and God alone.
This matters deeply for us and is a very practical concept. We cannot place our hope in man, or in what we are good at, or even in what someone else says about us. Instead, we have to draw our identity from God and from what God says about us. When we base our identity off of God instead of ourselves, or other people, we will be able to stand strong in times of chaos and confusion, just like Ruth.
Pastor Daniel