Biblical Profile: Ruth

Ruth

The story of Ruth tells of a kind and loyal woman and of the hidden providence of God, who makes all things work together for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28). This story, part of the history that leads to the Messiah himself, starts with sadness but ends happily.

Ruth lived during the turbulent period of the judges. A foreigner from Moab, she married into an Israelite family from Bethlehem when that family was living in Moab. All the men of this Israelite family died in Moab, leaving behind three widows—Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi, and her sister-in-law Orpah. When Naomi decided to return to her hometown of Bethlehem, Ruth cast her lot with her mother-in-law. Ruth’s declaration of love, loyalty, and faith in the Lord (Naomi’s God) has few equals (Ruth 1:16-17).

As Naomi had expected, the situation in Bethlehem was difficult for her and her daughter-in-law. Ruth, by her own initiative, undertook solving the problem of food for herself and Naomi through the hard and risky task of gleaning in the grain fields (2:2). She acted with modesty, grace, and courtesy, but also with determination, focus, and endurance.

With Naomi’s encouragement, Ruth then took the initiative in asking Boaz, the wealthy landowner who was supporting Ruth’s gleaning, to act as the family redeemer (3:1-9), which would include marriage. In doing this, Ruth was exercising great “family loyalty” (3:10); Ruth’s generous and diligent care for Naomi is a major theme throughout this little book. Boaz responded to Ruth’s proposal by calling her a “virtuous woman” (3:11), and she certainly embodied the characteristics of a virtuous and capable wife (cp. Prov 31:10-31, which uses the same Hebrew phrase and is placed immediately before Ruth in the Hebrew Bible).

Boaz settled the legal matters and then married Ruth. The book ends by announcing the birth of a baby boy, Obed. With this ending we see an important purpose of the book of Ruth. Obed became the grandfather of King David. The New Testament includes Ruth as one of only five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matt 1:5). The everyday faithfulness of Ruth had eternal significance as God worked out his purposes through her.

Passages for Further Study

Ruth 1:4–4:13; Matt 1:5