Who is Ruth? First, she was a widow of the Old Testament.
Bear with me because, in the times of the Bible, there weren’t many options for widows.
Now days, widows either find jobs or careers on their own, or receive some type of help from Social Security or other sources.
But, let’s get to the story behind the Book of Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi.
Who is Ruth? Why is She so Important? Synopsis of the Book of Ruth
First of all, Ruth was not an Israelite. She was a Moabite – coming from Moab. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, returns to Bethlehem where Ruth gleans the fields and meets Boaz.
The two eventually marry and, guess what? Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of David! Follow me so far? This lineage leads directly to Jesus.
God’s Grace in Times of Trouble
The Book of Ruth also shows us how God’s grace works in people’s lives. And, we learn that God can use anyone; even a Moabite widow and the descendant of a prostitute (remember Rahab?).
Naomi’s Influence
The Bible doesn’t say very much about Naomi. But, the reality is, she was a strong follower of God and Ruth was drawn to her.
Naomi’s faith and love for Ruth caused Ruth to take care of her mother-in-law. And, she would not send her on the journey to Bethlehem alone.
“Your People”
Although Ruth had to leave her homeland to stay with Naomi, she was compelled to take care of this woman of great faith.
I love the famous line in Ruth 1:16 where she says to Naomi:
“Your people shall be my people and your God my God.”
Encouragement from Ruth
It’s all included in the Book of Ruth. Let’s you and I take that journey together in future Bible study lessons and learn more about this remarkable woman of the Bible.
She suffers hardships like losing a husband and having to glean fields.But, we gain encouragement from the fact that God led this young widow to a foreign land. This led to her marriage to Boaz. Finally, God used this marriage to descend directly to David – and to Jesus Christ.
We live in the present. But, God lives in present, past and future!
When times are tough remember, God has a plan for you. It may not always coincide with your plans (or mine), but it’s the best plan in His will.
I’ll sum this up with an excerpt from Wikipedia. They say:
“Ruth is one of five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew, alongside Tamar, Rahab, the “wife of Uriah” (Bathsheba), and Mary. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld argues that Ruth is a model of loving-kindness,
She acts in ways that promote the well-being of others. In Ruth 1:8–18, she demonstrated hesed by not going back to Moab but accompanying her mother-in-law to a foreign land.
Ruth chose to glean, despite the danger she faced in the field (Ruth 2:15), and the lower social status of the job.
Finally, Ruth agrees with Naomi’s plan to marry Boaz, even though she was free of family obligations, once again demonstrating her loyalty and obedience.“
Read & Study the Book of Ruth
Finally, if you can’t wait to see what happens in this book, read it through and we’ll go into more depth in future posts.
Until then, I hope you experience the grace of God and find peace through His love.
Love in Christ,
Bob
P.S. If you would like to learn more about how to accept Christ as Savior, please read John 3:16 here.