Afterword
CONTENTS Introduction PART ONE: THE CHARACTERS 1. Naomi: Strength 2. Ruth: Loyalty 3. Boaz: Kindness PART TWO: THE STORY 4. Details: Warm Hearts and Cold Feet 5. Themes: When Strength, Loyalty, and Kindness Meet 6. Message: The Bread of Salvation Afterword
INTRODUCTION If you have read the book of Ruth, you already know what a wonderful story it is, and if you have not – a beautiful story awaits you. Whether you know the book or not, this is a biblical tale that can repay a little background study a hundred-fold. Understanding the historical setting of the book and what is really happening in it transforms the story of Ruth into a rich literary tapestry with significant spiritual lessons that can apply to us all.
Many people who read the book of Ruth think of it as a simple love story, but in reality it is far from simple, and it is not really a "love story" in the modern sense of "romantic love" either! That kind of love is only implied and – as we will see – is not ever mentioned in the story itself.
Instead, Ruth presents us with a number of themes which may reflect love, but do not focus on it. In fact, Ruth is unlike any other biblical book in weaving together accounts of three different individuals who each exhibit one of the book's actual themes.
The book tells the story of three characters – the Israelite widow Naomi, her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, and the Israelite man Boaz – each of whom is of central importance to what is related. The three strands of the story are woven together with such great skill that we read them as one account; but to fully understand the book of Ruth, we need to look beneath the surface at the individual characters and what they represent.
The book does not name its author, but according to Jewish tradition it was written by the prophet Samuel. Some scholars think that it may have been written later in order to counter the attitude toward foreign women that was stressed in the post-Exilic period of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 10:1-5; Nehemiah 13:1-3), but there are several arguments that support an origin for Ruth in Samuel's time.
Whoever wrote Ruth was a skilled storyteller. Despite its brevity (it is one of the shortest works in the Old Testament), this little book has been called one of the most beautiful stories ever written. Yet it is set in difficult times. The events of Ruth take place "in the days when the judges judged" (Ruth 1:1), sometime around 1100 B.C. This is a vital fact to remember because the period of the Judges was an uncertain and often dangerous one in which there was little centralized authority and, at times, much crime and violence (Judges 17:6, 21:25). Adding to this situation, the book of Ruth begins in a time of famine in Israel (Ruth 1:1).
So the story is one of a journey out of hard times – a journey toward happiness that is eventually fulfilled in the lives of all its central characters. But this is no simplistic tale of "things working out well in the end." Ruth is a story of deep courage, strength, loyalty, determination, and kindness with an underlying message that reaches from the ancient world to our lives today. The following chapters aim to show the importance of this biblical book, its lessons for today, and why it is often called "the biggest small book in the Bible" as well as its "most profound simple story."
R. Herbert
PART ONE:
THE CHARACTERS