INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The little book of Ruth has drawn tributes from very many, and it has even been described as ‘the perfect story’.1 It is indeed a splendid example of the storyteller’s art and it is more than a little interesting to find in this book which comes down from a remote antiquity a tale which conforms so exactly to the standards looked for in a good story in modern times.
It is told simply and directly. It deals with the period of the judges, but it forms a contrast with the book of that name. The book of Judges tells of war and strife, but this is a quiet story of ordinary people going about their quiet lives. In one way it is a tale of two women. It relates how one of them, Naomi, underwent much hardship, but eventually won through to peace and security. It tells how the other, Ruth, attached herself firmly to her mother-in-law and to her mother-in-law’s God and how she received the blessing of that God. But most of all the book is a book about God. It deals with unimportant people and unimportant matters. But it deals with them in such a way as to show that God is active in the affairs of men. He works his purpose out and blesses them that trust him.