This is part of a series of articles, describing each of the 66 books of the Bible and how it relates to the one overall story of God’s relationship with man. The story is examined in terms of the five recurring themes below. The series cover page can be reached here.
| God’s Sovereign Plan | God’s Majesty, Holiness & Justice | God’s Love & Pursuit of Relationship | Man’s Rebellion & Sin | God’s Solution: A Redeeming Sacrifice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The author of the book of Ruth is not given. It is set during the same time frame as Judges, which began in about 1350 B.C. However, its ending references Israel’s King David, whose reign was about 1000 B.C., so it must have been written down after that point.
The literary style of the book is literal, historical narrative. People and places are named in real-world context, with nothing “once upon a time” or “in a galaxy far, far away”. The Gospel of Matthew includes Ruth in its genealogy of Jesus’ ancestors (Matthew 1:5), one of only four women to be included there.
This book is an illustration of the concept of a “Kinsman/Redeemer”, and is a powerful preview of the work of Jesus. It includes two of the major themes presented in this article series: God’s Sovereignty and His Redemption.
The Setting
Chapter 1 sets up the background of the main story. It tells of a famine in the land that caused a family to move from Israel to Moab on the other side of the Jordan River. The family included Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion. While in Moab, Elimelech passed away. The two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. But then the sons both died, leaving the three women alone.
Naomi decided to return home to Israel. She encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their own families as well. Orpah agreed, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi. Her refusal is the beautiful passage that is now often used in weddings:
Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.
Ruth 1:16-17
Boaz
In Chapter 2, we meet a new character, Boaz. He was a kinsman of Elimelech, and a man of some wealth. Naomi and Ruth — being widows in a world where women with no men to protect them had a difficult time — were very poor. One of the few ways that the poor could feed themselves was to pick grain along the edges of large fields 1. Ruth went out to the fields to do so, and ended up one owned by Boaz.
Boaz noticed her, and heard a good report of her from his people. They told how she was working hard, and that she was supporting her mother-in-law. He was kind to her, offering her food and rest along with his paid workers. He even instructed them to deliberately “overlook” more grain than usual so that she was able to gather plenty to take home. He told her to continue to work only in his field, where she would be safe from those who might take advantage of her elsewhere.
Ruth’s Request
Chapter 3 describes a proposition that sounds strange to modern ears. Naomi told Ruth to go to Boaz where he would be sleeping at the threshing floor where the grain was being processed. She was to uncover his feet and lay down beside them. When he awoke in the middle of the night to this startling sight, she asked that he “spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” (Ruth 3:9)
That was a request for his marriage and protection. It was appropriate because he was a relative, and so was eligible to be the “kinsman redeemer” for a family member in need (Leviticus 25:25, 47-49). There was also the command for a man to take in his brother’s widow as a wife, so that her firstborn son could carry on the name of the deceased (Deuteronomy 25:5-6).
Boaz did not take offense or resent Ruth’s request. Instead, he praised her and sent her back to Naomi with a gift of more grain. But he did have to deal with one potential obstacle before granting the request: There was another kinsman with closer ties who had the first right of redemption. Would he want to marry Ruth in Boaz’s stead?
Happy Ending
Chapter 4 answers that question. Boaz met with the other kinsman, offering to let him redeem the property that had originally belonged to Elimelech. The man agreed…until he learned that he would have to redeem not only Elimelech’s field, but also his daughter-in-law. The other kinsman did not want to jeopardize any inheritance that might go to his own son by fathering a son who would be considered Elimelech’s heir. He formally gave up his right of redemption, legally passing it off to Boaz.
Now that the way was clear, Boaz married Ruth. After losing a husband and two sons, Naomi finally was given a grandchild. That child was named Obed. When he grew up, he had a son named Jesse. And when Jesse grew up, Ruth’s great-grandson was named David…and became Israel’s greatest king and the ancestor of humanity’s greatest King: Jesus.
One Story
Continue to 1st Samuel.
Footnotes and Scripture References
- God had commanded that field owners not pick the fields completely clean. They were to leave some so that the poor who were willing to help themselves had that option (Leviticus 19:9-10, 23:22)
