The book of ruth is one of the most moving accounts in the bible, a story of love and loyalty that is a stark contrast to todays cynical, throwaway society. Ruth, redemption, covenant, and christ religious studies. Ruth is a book for all times, whether written in post. If you read the book of ruth, youll see gods fingerprints all over her life. The story begins with a famine in the days when the judges ruled ruth 1. Not only does gods promise to the seed of abraham go on through the troubled time of the judges, but he so arranges the details of earths history and the chosen line to include. God intended for ruth to be a part of the story of the lineage of jesus. Ruths devotion to naomi and boaz devotion to ruth provide two compelling portraits of love among the people of god. The book of ruth does not specifically name its author. The exact date the book of ruth was written is uncertain.
For wherever you go, i will go, and wherever you live, i will live. This is the message of the gospel in the old testament and the new. Ruth answered, please dont tell me to leave you and return home. Book of ruth overview insight for living ministries. The book is primarily a story of naomis transformation from despair to happiness through the selfless, god blessed acts of ruth and boaz. The mans name was elimelek, his wifes name was naomi, and the. It is set in the time of the judges not the best ones, if we assign it to the period of gideon and samson and it attempts to define the rights of widows and aliens within a society fallen upon hard times. The book of ruth is a beautiful illustration of gods impartiality and faithfulness to those who are true to him. The god whose wingspan provides protection until the raging storm has passed by is present to bless ruth and deliver her, as he was with israel as they left egypt. If god calls, you can leave family, you can leave your job, you can leave minnesota, and you can make radical commitments and undertake new ventures.
This was a time when the people of israel had abandoned gods ways and fallen into idolatry, horrific social conditions, and a disastrous civil war, as told in the chapters of judges immediately preceding the book of. The hidden symbolism you never saw in the book of ruth. So, he pulled together events such as the famine, naomi s relocation to moab, their return to bethlehem, boaz bloodline, and many other events just to ensure that ruth could be a part of his plan. The book of ruth describes gods provision for those who choose to follow him. Gods wings disappear in joshua and judges, only to reappear again here, as boaz describes ruths quest for safety in god. The author was anonymous but some believe it was perhaps written by samuel the prophet. Children and artists alike will spend hours examining each one, learning a little more about god as they do so. But the greatest love displayed in this book is gods love for naomi and all of israel. Becoming a kingdom of priests in a prodigal world, a guidebook for the associated that the. Among historical narratives in scripture it is unexcelled in its compactness, vividness, warmth, beauty and dramatic effectivenessan exquisitely wrought jewel of hebrew narrative art. Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, who does that young woman belong to. We see him working out his perfect plan in ruths life, just as he does with all his children romans 8. Connecting jesus to the house of david and ultimately to ruth gave the nazarene the imprimatur of a messiah among early converts to christianity. And what the book of ruth does for us is give us a glimpse of the hidden work of god during the worst of times.
If youve ever experienced loss, loneliness, or seasons of great change or difficulty, then you can immediately identify with the events and people in the book of ruth. Ruth is an example of how god can change a life and take it in a direction he has foreordained. The hidden symbolism you never saw in the book of ruth,andrew wilson, alastair robert study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. The book of ruth begins by highlighting the judges theme of israel needing a king and exploring the misery and emptiness a singular family might experience during these dark times ruth 1. Theologically, the book emphasizes the sovereign activity of gods providential working in the affairs of man.
During the time of the judges, israel lacked a king. I imagine that ruth saw this job as an illustration of gods faithfulness from this point forward. Ruth showed loyalty to her motherinlaw, naomi, and her god. The ancient book of ruth speaks into todays world with astonishing relevance. When a woman named ruth decided she wanted to follow god, she got to be part of gods family. Obed becomes the father of jesse and jesse becomes the father of david who led israel to her greatest heights of glory. The book reveals the extent of gods gracehe accepted ruth into his chosen people and honored her with a role in continuing the family line into which his.
The book tells of ruth accepting the god of the israelites as her god and the israelite people as her own. The hidden symbolism you never saw in the book of ruth bible. God will reward ruth because she has sought refuge under his wings. Numerous elements of the story serve as a type of christ. Gods grace in the life of ruth first presbyterian church. So ruth grew up a pagan, in a land cursed by the foulness and ferocity of its gods. Seeing christ in the book of ruth core christianity. Theres a lot of lessons in ruths story, but here are 5 that really stand out. Christ is the firstborn son of god, the first of many firstfruits to come. Ruth shows us that god is the god of the entire world, not just the israelites, especially when ruth proclaims, the lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the lord, the god of israel, under whose wings you. Picturing god by ruth goring is an incredible new picture book. The child born to ruth and boaz during the period of the judges is obed. The timeline of this book is intertwined during the period of the judges.
So a man from bethlehem in judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of moab. According to gods remarkable sovereignty, it turned out that boaz was a relative to ruths husband who had passed away. Although ruth came from a pagan background in moab, once she met the god of israel, she became a living testimonial to him by faith. The book of ruth is a hebrew short story about the greatgrandmother of king david. The story of naomi and ruth is one of my favorite stories in the bible. Here are 5 lessons women can learn from the book of ruth. But, there is so much more that we can learn from this beautiful relationship including the importance of family, loyalty and humility. However, the prevalent view is a date between 1011 and 931 b. People from moab were often hated by the jews, but god selected ruth to be a direct ancestor of jesus christ. People often describe the book of ruth as a love story. The tradition is that the book of ruth was written by the prophet samuel. She was minding her own business, looking to pick up leftover grain, when he came into her life.
Lessons in life and faith from the book of ruth in the bible. The book of ruth carries within its pages some of the most fundamental and powerful doctrines of the kingdom. Ruths life story began in moab, where, as a young moabite woman, she married a man from bethlehem. God had orchestrated ruths location into boazs presence.
In finding god in the margins, carolyn custis james reveals how the book of ruth is about god, the questions that surface when life falls apart, and how god reaches into the margins and chooses two totally marginalized women who, in the eyes of the patriarchal culture, are zeros. If this suggests that the book of ruth is an anomaly, i propose to show that, on the contrary, its thematic connections with the rest of the bible are much stronger than we generally perceive. The book of ruth ends with a genealogy of the descendants of ruth and boaz, leading to king david. On its face, the book of ruth is a short selfcontained story, unconnected to the narrative sequence from genesis through kings. The book of ruth is first and foremost about the covenant faithfulness of the lord to ensure the arrival of our redeemer, the lord jesus christ. The book teaches that divine providence brought forth david ruth 4. The following article is adapted from israels mission. Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly bible studies to share with family and friends. Naomi loses her husband and sons in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. The book of ruth tells a touching story of the love and devotion of an ancestor of david and jesus christ. For christians, the book of ruth is an early echo of the divinity of jesus. In four short episodes we encounter refugees, undocumented immigrants, poverty, hunger, womens rights. The work of god in the darkest of times look at the last verse of ruth 4.
Ruth shows us what our marriage to him will be like. Finally, we learn that if you trust the sovereign goodness and mercy of god to pursue you all the days of your life, then you are free like ruth. Her husband, along with his family, had moved to moab because of a famine in the land of judah. The book of ruth is a hebrew short story, told with consummate skill. Although we live more than 3,000 years after ruth, we can almost feel her emotions as we hear these words repeated in the modern marriage ceremony. The book of ruth is the narrative of a love story, yet also has some important genealogy. The story of ruth offers vital lessons to every generation and has enjoyed nearly universal acceptance by biblical scholars and critics throughout the centuries. But as the story unfolds, we realize that it is about more than the love between two people. The book of ruth illustrates how god is at work in the ordinary and mundane details of life. The book of ruth gives the solution to this lawless period. Ruth heard about another godactually a fertility goddess who offered the moabites regeneration through the gratification of lust with harlot priestesses in the temple. Dont plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you.