Introduction to the Book of Ruth

For this introduction to Ruth , I'm sitting here wondering how to give you the important points of this book without making it boring--because it isn't boring at all. But when facts are lined up in a row, it can be more than anyone is willing to read. Hopefully, you'll take the time to look closely at these facts--so here goes.

1) The name "Ruth" most likely comes from a Moabite and/or Hebrew word meaning "friendship."

2) Ruth arrived in Bethlehem as a foreigner (2:10), became a maidservant (2:13), married wealthy Boaz (4:13), and was included in the physical lineage of Christ (Matt. 1:5).

3) Jewish tradition credits Samuel as the author of the book of Ruth and the book most likely appeared shortly before or during David's reign in Israel (1011-971 B.C.), since David is mentioned but Solomon isn't.

4) Goethe labeled the book of Ruth as "the loveliest, complete work on a small scale." Ruth is to literature what Venus is to statuary and the Mona Lisa is to paintings.

5) The book of Ruth begins in Moab--a country east of the Dead Sea and a perennial enemy of Israel. This country originated when Lot fathered Moab by an incestuous union with his oldest daughter (Gen. 19:37).

6) Balak, king of Moab, opposed the Jews through the prophet Balaam. Moab oppressed Israel for 18 years during the time of the judges. Saul defeated the Moabites while David seemed to enjoy a peaceful relationship with them. Moab later troubled Israel again, and was eventually cursed by God because of their idolatrous worship of Chemosh.

7) This story takes place during the time "when the judges ruled," and the period of Ruth would most likely be during the judgeship of Jair (1126-1105 B.C.). 

8) Ruth covers about 11 or 12 years when broken up this way: 10 years in Moab,  several months in Boaz's field, one day in Bethlehem and one night at the threshing floor, and a year in Bethlehem.

9) Genealogically, Ruth looks back almost 900 years to events in the time of Jacob and forward about 100 years to the coming reign of David. Ruth focuses on the lineage of David back to the patriarchal era.

10) At least 7 major theological themes can be taken from Ruth:

1. Ruth the Moabitess illustrates that God's redemptive plan extended beyond the Jews to Gentiles.
2. Ruth demonstrates that women are co-heirs with men of God's grace and salvation.
3. Ruth portrays the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31:10.
4. Ruth describes God's sovereign and providential care of seemingly unimportant people at apparently insignificant times which later prove to be monumentally crucial to accomplishing God's will.
5. Ruth, along with Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba, stand in the genealogy of the messianic line.
6. Boaz, as a type of Christ, becomes Ruth's kinsman-redeemer.
7. Christ's right as the Messiah is traced from David's right to the throne of Israel through Judah.

There are other facts and details which I'm leaving for you to look at on your own, but these are interesting thoughts on Ruth that make us aware of its message for us today. May God bless our hearts and minds with the willingness to absorb the teachings of the book of Ruth.

Blessings...Mimi

Thoughts on Studying the Book of Ruth

     It's been a while since I've written a blog based on the Bible, but in studying for a ladies' Bible class that begins this week, I want to share some of the thoughts which came to me while reading the introduction to the book of Ruth. I must say that on this very first morning of looking at this book, I'm once again completely and utterly impressed by the way God's design for saving the world shows up in His Word.

    The reason I decided to write this blog--and the only reason for writing any blog--is to help us improve our own lives. And, as I was reading over the intro to the book of Ruth, I was struck by questions that I couldn't answer. Maybe you can. Remembering that Ruth had no idea that she was to become a part of the lineage of the Messiah when she made the decision to go with her mother-in-law Naomi, ask yourself: What would I have done, if faced with Ruth's choice? Would I have taken the easy way out and asked for help from my own people--staying in a familiar place where I felt safe and secure? And ask yourself: Right now, in my life, am I choosing the path that means no deep thinking, no added difficulties, no further action needed? I realize that I choose the easy way out most often because I'm already dealing with life itself, and I'm absolutely sure that's quite hard enough.

     And you know that the way life works is that just when you think you've got all your bases covered, something unexpected happens, and you're unexpectedly trying to cover another base. This may even include other people, which moves things way out of your control. Oh, you don't like that at all! You may say: Why me? I try so hard to organize and plan, to declutter and give away those meaningless items, and keep myself on some sort of schedule. Now this unexpected thing has come along and I'm all out of sync. I know, I know...it's not as bad because I'm doing all the right things...most of the time...but it feels really jarring--and really irritating. Go to a foreign country and start over? I'm not sure at all that Ruth's choice would be mine. Why in the world did she make that choice anyway? Did she just feel a need for change? Was she running away from something? Or was it her belief in God?

   The only way to answer some of the big questions is to study about people who made the right choices--not because they knew what the result would be, but because their trust was in God. And we should all ask ourselves occasionally where our trust is placed. Does the faith you profess show up in your trust in God? Whew! The questions may be too difficult to answer honestly in a short time, but answer them you must if you want to make Satan flee from you. There must be time for contemplation and assessment of where you are in your spiritual life, or Satan will fool you into making more work for yourself on the physical plane than you could ever finish. I have a sneaking feeling that just when we feel good about ourselves because our house is all clean and bright (a good thing, no doubt), Satan is feeling good about the way he maneuvered us into doing one more thing besides studying God's Word. I suppose this is where I must say that if you schedule time to study the Bible, you'll be there. And you won't feel that you're taking time away from shining your sink.

   In any case, I'm going to study the book of Ruth and hope you'll look at it seriously as well. In my next blog, I'll do what I intended to do today--talk about the introduction to the book of Ruth. The elements are all presented, allowing us to see the working out of God's plan for the salvation of the world. Wow! That's amazing!

Blessings...Mimi