Ruth
Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. Each review contains quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover Ruth, a book written almost 3,000 years ago and one that is part of a larger collection of books called The Bible.
Author
The Talmud attributes the authorship of Ruth to Samuel, but the book itself offer no hint of the identity of its author. While many believe Samuel to be its author, we can only speculate about who might have written the book of Ruth.
Introduction
The book of Ruth gets its name from one of its principle characters, a Moabite woman named Ruth who was the ancestor of David and Jesus. After reading the book of Judges, which paints a dark and depressing picture of Israel, the reader is relieved to encounter Ruth. Although the book is relatively short, it is rich in examples of kindness, faith, and patience.
Message and Purpose
The book of Ruth reveals four primary themes: grace, God's providence, faithful love, and the family redeemer.
Grace. Naomi thought that the Lord's hand of judgment was upon her after she and her husband left the promised land in search of food and married their sons to Moabite women in search of offspring. She underestimated God's grace. We too have gone astray from the Lord and need to receive His grace and mercy.
God's providence. The genealogy of David at the end of the book shows that the Lord worked through this story to provide for His people's need of a king. Even though the Lord's actions are mainly concealed, there are two specific events attributed directly to Him—providing food for His people (1:6) and conception for Ruth (4:13). In these way, the Lord provided for all of His people's needs.
Faithful love. The book of Ruth demonstrates how the Lord shows His covenant faithfulness to His undeserving people, often in surprising ways. In the course of the narrative, each of the main characters proved to be a person of extraordinary courage and covenant love. These are people whose spiritual commitment is demonstrated clearly in godly living.
The family redeemer. Ruth provides a great example of a family member who used his power under Jewish law to redeem. Boaz demonstrated one of the duties of the family member—that of marrying the widow of a deceased family member. A correlation is sometimes made between the redemption of Ruth by Boaz and the redemption of sinners by Christ. Because of God's covenant faithfulness, He has provided the Redeemer that we all need in Jesus Christ.
Remarkable Chapter
The buildup to Ruth and Boaz's marriage culminates in the fourth and final chapter of Ruth. In verses thirteen through sixteen, the writer outlines the miracle of their story and what is to come:
"Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Naomi, 'Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, you daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.' Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him."
Although for ten years in Moab, Ruth had been unable to bear a son for Mahlon, through the Lord's direct intervention she immediately conceived and bore a son for Boaz. The child would be a comfort for Naomi in her old age; he would be her family redeemer who would provide for her needs in her declining years.
He was named Obed, a short form of Obadiah, which means "servant of the Lord." Though no one could bring back Naomi's husband or sons, now she had a daughter-in-law whom all recognized as "better to you than seven sons"—an astonishing accolade in the ancient world.
Conclusion
Ruth's covenantal faithfulness to Naomi and her God provided a model showing that those who were not ethnic Israelites could be incorporated into the people of God through faith. If Moabites who joined themselves to the Lord could be accepted, there was hope for other Gentiles as well. Thus Ruth is an oft-quoted book to demonstrate what kindness, faith, and patience truly look like.