Overview of the Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth as a Literary Masterpiece

The overview of the week for this Sunday is the book of Ruth. Only two books in the Bible received their names from women. Ruth is obviously one of them, Esther being the other. The book of Ruth is considered a masterpiece in ancient literature.

The story takes place in the time period of the judges, and we don't know who the author was. Some speculate Samuel. We don't really know, but it was likely written around the 10th century BC. The book of Ruth tells of this woman, Ruth, a Moabite, who accepted the God of Israel.

After the death of her husband, who was of the tribe of Judah, she decides to stay and live with her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, because Naomi had instructed her, I have nothing here for you. I have no other sons.

Your husband is dead. Go back to your people, the Moabites. And Ruth says, no, I'm gonna stay here with you. Chapter 1, verse 16, Ruth says to Naomi, where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay.

Your people, this is the important part, your people will be my people, and your God, my God. So the book of Ruth tells us several things. First, that being an Old Testament Jew wasn't as much about your Israeli bloodline as much as it was about your faithfulness to the God of Israel.

Again, Ruth was a Moabite. The main theme of the book, however, is that of the kinsman-redeemer. Ruth marries a man who fits that bill, the kinsman-redeemer. His name was Boaz, and Boaz is seen as a type of Christ.

So the concept of the kinsman-redeemer, you say, well, what is that? It's basically a male relative who, according to the law of God, had the privilege slash responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in need.

So he was to help or redeem them. And in the New Testament Church, we recognize Christ as our kinsman-redeemer because he is our relative. He is our brother, according to Hebrews 2 .11. He also redeems us because of our great need, and he's the only one who is able to do that.

Boaz as a Type of Christ

So this is really a great story. But in conclusion, Boaz and Ruth end up giving birth to a son. His name is Obed. He is the father of Jesse, who is the father of David, Israel's great king. And because of that, Ruth is included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.