Week 6 (The Judges) – Day 5: The Story of Ruth

Day 30 – The Story of Ruth - Ruth 1:1-4:22

We read the entire Book of Ruth today.  This is a story of unexpected fidelity from a foreign woman, Ruth, to her Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi.  The story uses the word redemption many times to describe Naomi and Ruth’s movement from destitution and grief to blessing.  How does this story give you hope?  What may need redemption in your own life?

I also wanted to point out a few items of interest.  First and foremost, this story contains the tension of having a foreign woman, in fact a Moabite, who were enemies of the Israelites, as the main actor.  Even more interesting, Ruth, the non-Israelite, is an ancestor of David and therefore Jesus.  Non-Israelite blood runs in the veins of David and Jesus.

We also see details of the society of the time such as the vulnerable position of women, particularly those with no male relatives.  We glimpse how this vulnerability was dealt with through marriage to other family members of the deceased man, if possible.  We see the institution of leaving wheat which is dropped during the harvest behind for the poor to pick up. This device is the welfare system of the time.  We also see how legal matters were handled.  The book contains some fascinating insights into early Israelite society.

In Christ,

Randy