Ruth Ruth
Ruth
Introduction
At a Glance
Author: Traditionally Samuel the prophet
Audience: Originally Israel, but this theological history speaks to everyone
Date: Difficult to determine with any accuracy, but likely sometime during the early monarchy (1030–970 BC) and about eighty to one hundred years before David
Type of Literature: Theological history
Major Themes: Outsiders and insiders, God’s faithfulness, and God as Kinsman-Redeemer
Outline:
Love’s Resolve: Ruth’s Noble Choice — 1:1–22
Love’s Response: Ruth’s Lowly Service — 2:1–23
Love’s Request: Ruth’s Tender Appeal — 3:1–18
Love’s Reward: Ruth’s Forever Joy — 4:1–22
About Ruth
Behold the book of courageous love, which the German writer Goethe described as “the most charming whole”—and what a charming book it is! The book of Ruth may be delightfully short in length, yet it is grand and sweeping and universal in its literary narrative and revelation-insight into the heart of God.
Set in the time of the book of Judges, this popular Old Testament story has fascinated readers for thousands of years. Inspired by God and esteemed by Jews and Christians alike, Ruth is one of the loveliest epics of all time. It deserves to be honored as an enchanting and beautiful love story between Ruth and Boaz, an intermarriage of Jew and gentile. Its literary style is simple, fresh, and graceful. You will notice a stark contrast between reading the rough stories of conquest in the book of Judges and the subtlety and emotion of Ruth. It is a pastoral poem of only eighty-five verses, a sermon that preaches not mighty deeds but acts of supernatural love.
Ruth’s undying devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi has gone down in Israel’s history as an example of courage and selflessness. Ruth, the gentile from Moab, became a direct ancestor of David and of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we read the book of Ruth, we see that mercy triumphs over judgment, the least become the greatest, famine leads to harvest time, and despair turns into delight. In Judges we meet a woman who was as strong as a man (Deborah), and in Ruth we meet a man who was as tender as a woman (Boaz). Think of the four chapters of Ruth as the four acts of a play:
| Act One: | Naomi and Ruth |
| Act Two: | Ruth Meets Boaz in the Harvest Fields |
| Act Three: | Naomi Sends Ruth to the Threshing Floor |
| Act Four: | Ruth and Boaz—Life Lived to the Full |
All of these acts work together to paint a glorious whole that (1) emphasizes the faithfulness of one woman to another, mirroring the faithful heart of God himself; (2) reveals the sovereignty of God during desperate times; and (3) establishes the chain of genealogy leading to Israel’s Messiah, who redeems not only Jews but gentiles as well.
There are two books in the Bible that are named after a woman: Ruth and Esther. Ruth was a gentile who married a Jew and became an ancestor of our Lord Jesus. Esther was a Jew who married a gentile and ended up saving the Jewish people. Ruth was also the great-grandmother of King David, who was Israel’s greatest king and in the lineage of Jesus the Messiah. The story of Ruth begins with a famine and ends with the birth of a baby—the ultimate reversal that anticipates the Christ child who would be born into a spiritually impoverished world in order to rescue it from sinful ruin and redeem it unto the richness of God’s everlasting life!
Purpose
Narratively, the book of Ruth takes place during the middle year in the book of Judges. This is important because the book is a microcosm of faithfulness to both God and neighbors during a period when “the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh” (Judg. 2:11) and “everyone did whatever they wanted to do” (Judg. 21:25). Ruth is a stark contrast to Judges, showing that even as the nation rejected and abandoned Yahweh, a remnant of faithful individuals still existed—and one was a non-Jewish Moabite, no less!
Another purpose of the book of Ruth is to showcase the faithfulness of God. God is named twenty-five times in the four short chapters of Ruth, and time and time again those chapters reveal God’s grace and faithfulness to Israelites in the midst of the chaotic period of the Judges. Part of this faithfulness is the establishment of the genealogy of David and Jesus, reminding the reader that Yahweh’s sovereign hand was still firmly at the helm of his salvation plan, which is for all people—gentiles included. This sovereignty extends today over all our personal circumstances as well (even our failures) for his good purposes.
Author and Audience
Although the book of Ruth doesn’t claim a particular author, scholars have traditionally identified Samuel as the writer of this account of Naomi and Ruth, Ruth and Boaz. The book follows Judges in the canon of Scripture for a reason: it was written to offer a stark contrast to the disobedience and disastrous destruction of Israel’s unfaithfulness. The author’s moving narrative is a powerful illustration of common-folk faithfulness to Yahweh that has resonated with the people of God through the centuries.
For generations, Jews have read Ruth publicly in their congregations during the Feast of Pentecost following Passover. And Christians have looked to its pages for reminders of God’s special care over our lives, his acceptance of outsiders into his family, and his redeeming love that was ultimately fulfilled in Ruth’s very own descendent, Jesus Christ. In the end, the book of Ruth paints a beautiful picture of the church of Jesus Christ, reminding us that it is made up of gentiles who are brought into God’s covenant of grace through the ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer.
Major Themes
Outsiders Become Insiders. The book of Ruth presents to the world a moving picture of God as the God of the outsider as much as the insider. For Ruth, a Moabite from a gentile nation, is not only a positive example of faithfulness to the law in contrast to Israel’s idolatry and faithless living but also the model convert, pledging to Naomi that her mother-in-law’s “God will now be my God” (Ruth 1:16) at a time when Israel had abandoned Yahweh. As a result, Yahweh’s favor was clearly upon her. He turned his face toward her in faithfulness even though she had been outside his covenant people.
This portrait of God is made complete by the church of Jesus Christ. His desire is that all people—Jews and gentiles alike—would be part of one family: his family! Made up of gentiles who are brought into God’s covenant of grace through Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer, the church offers the radical invitation to people from every tribe and nation, language and background to join God’s family, with Christ as the head.
Consider this: a non-Jewish outsider played a pivotal role in God’s promise of salvation, standing in the long line of women leading to the birth of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. This paints in bright, bold, beautiful colors the revelation-truth that God not only invites outsiders into his work, beckoning them into his covenant of grace, but uses outsiders to do his work, unfolding his heart along the way.
Our Circumstances, God’s Faithfulness. After beginning the story that unfolds in the book of Ruth, one could understandably mistake it for a book of abandonment. In the opening verses we find severe famine, the death of husbands, childlessness and barrenness, and familial abandonment. One of the main characters even changed her name to Bitter, for she believed God had dealt her “a bitter blow,” bringing her back to her homeland “empty and destitute” (Ruth 1:20, 21). However, the reader would be mistaken to assume this is the crux of the matter.
Instead, this is a love story as much between God and man as it is between man and woman. For the same opening words of this matchless narrative direct the reader’s attention to the divine sovereignty orchestrating the events that follow: Elimelech means “my God is King,” immediately introducing the God who rules over our circumstances with care. God himself is even identified as Shaddai, which can mean “God of the holy mountain,” “God of the wilderness,” “God the destroyer of enemies,” “God the all-sufficient One,” “God the nurturer of babies [the breasted One],” “God the almighty,” “the sovereign God,” or “the God who is more than enough.”
Some have understood the key verse to be 2:12, where, in talking with Ruth about her sacrifice for Naomi, Boaz says, “Because of what you’ve done, may you have a full and rich reward from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to find shelter!” Ruth found herself under the sheltering wings of God, and so do we! Although our circumstances may seem hopeless, God is the all-sufficient One who is more than enough, faithfully nurturing us as needy infants, fighting our enemies standing in our paths, and walking with us through whatever wilderness in which we find ourselves.
The book of Ruth reveals the sovereignty of God in a special way, bringing the lens of revelation-insight to bear on the singular circumstances of a pair of women and showcasing how he overrules all circumstances (even our failures) for his good purposes. Nothing just happens; God is in control of your life! God’s plans and purposes take us from emptiness to fullness, poverty to riches. You can find hope in the detours of life, no matter how dire. The most painful time of Ruth’s life became her most pivotal, propelling her to a destiny she never would have imagined.
We find that God’s ultimate faithfulness, grace, and loyalty often unfold in relationships between people. Ruth is the epitome of this grace-gift offered to each and every one of us, for her name includes the meanings “close friend,” “neighbor,” and “shepherdess.” In Hebrew, Ruth sounds like “refreshing”—which she was for her mother-in-law Naomi. God continues to unfold his faithfulness to the world using people to refresh the weary, extend neighbor-love to the downtrodden, and befriend those who feel abandoned.
God’s Kinsman-Redeeming Love. There is a special Hebrew word that sits at the center of this matchless story, one that also sits at the center of the heart of God. The word is ga’al, which means “kinsman-redeemer.” This term is used eleven times throughout Ruth and signifies a legal function of a near relative. If a widow was childless, under the law, a close male relative could “redeem” her through marriage and buy back her property. This kinsman-redeemer ensured that the widow’s inheritance rights were not lost, and he provided for her offspring. Naomi is a prime example, for when her husband and sons died, she was destitute. Yet she had near relatives living in Bethlehem who would qualify to be her kinsman-redeemers, one of whom was Boaz.
Naomi isn’t the only example of destitution. Every person on the planet is in need of a redeemer to save them. Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is our Kinsman-Redeemer! He is a kinsman, for he took upon himself our nature of flesh and blood to take away our curse (see Gal. 3:13; Heb. 2:11) and our slavery to sin. He is the appointed heir of all things (see Heb. 1:1–3). He has perpetuated the nature, character, and kingdom of God upon the earth. He has perpetuated God’s name (see Eph. 1:20–23; Phil. 2:6–11). Jesus Christ is seen in the book of Ruth as:
The Bread of Abundance — Ruth 1:6; John 6:48
The Mighty Man of Wealth — Ruth 2:1; Phil. 4:19
The One from Bethlehem — Ruth 2:4; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:5–6
The Lord of the Harvest — Ruth 2:4–17; James 5:7
The Full Reward — Ruth 2:12; Rev. 22:12
The Kinsman-Redeemer — Ruth 2:20; Gal. 3:13
The One whose Name is Famous — Ruth 4:14; Eph. 1:20–23; Phil. 2:1–11
The Restorer and Sustainer of Life — Ruth 4:15; John 11:25; Heb. 1:3
Undoubtedly, the book of Ruth contains one of the most delightful love stories of the Old Testament. It is offered up from God’s heart to yours as a matchless picture of redeeming love. Ruth’s love for Naomi manifested itself in her faithfulness, care, and protection, standing by her mother-in-law’s side when Naomi was left abandoned. Boaz (the son of Rahab, see Matt. 1:5) is a key figure in the story of Ruth because he acted as a kinsman-redeemer, protecting Elimelech’s family inheritance by marrying Ruth. These actions illustrate the redeeming love not only between two women and between a man and a woman but also between humanity and Yahweh—the ga’al of the world.
Ruth
Courageous Love
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