Step into the story the book of ruth is a beautiful story about ruth and naomi and ruth and boaz. How does the book of ruth provide a model for marriage. So far in the book of ruth there hasnt been much good news. The book of esther is one of only two books in the hebrew bible that never mention god the other is the song of songs. The book is named after one of its main characters, a young woman of moab, the. What version of the bible does not mention god in ruth. However, god is not mentioned in the book of esther in every version. Such love also reflects gods love, in a marvelous joining of human and divine. How do we see gods character and the gospel in the book of ruth.
At a surface level, few saw ruth as an important person. Boaz redeems ruth in order that he might marry her, just as god did. Ruth heard about another godactually a fertility goddess who offered the moabites regeneration through the gratification of lust with harlot priestesses in the temple. Naomi was from bethlehem and moved to moab with her husband elimelek and two sons, mahlon and kilion. How many times is gods name mentioned in the book of ruth. The inner chapters show how naomi and ruth make a plan, followed by an encounter between ruth and boaz, followed by naomi and ruth rejoicing. Ruth was a descendant of lot, abrahams nephew, and therefore, a gentile. Although we live more than 3,000 years after ruth, we can almost feel her emotions as we hear these words repeated in the modern marriage ceremony. At a time when we look for god to be active through a judge or king, god instead works out his will through the everyday faithfulness of his people. Ruth was accepted into the commonwealth of israel, as was boazs mother, rahab, before her. The tradition is that the book of ruth was written by the prophet samuel. This fact has caused some to question its place in the biblical canon, but, in reality, the absence of gods name fits. So ruth grew up a pagan, in a land cursed by the foulness and ferocity of its gods. In previous blog posts, i have drawn attention to various old testament foreshadows and prototypes of christ.
The book of ruth reflects a time of peace between israel and moab. The significance and application of the book of ruth. The book tells of ruth accepting the god of the israelites as her god and the. The book of ruth came along at a time of irresponsible living in israels history and appropriately called the people back to a greater responsibility and faithfulness before godeven in difficult times. With a account you will be able to save items to read and study later. It is only in the jewish edition of the hebrew scriptures from centuries after chris. This book is beautifully designed by god to show how his grace can sustain a faithful testimony of individuals at a time when the general condition of things is low and naturally discouraging. Actually, in the book of esther, god is explicitly mentioned in the catholic bible, and in the greek septuagint which was the bible that our blessed lord used. Discover how the obedience of ruth and boaz still affects people today. In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of bethlehem in judah went to sojourn in the country of moab, he and his wife and his two sons. Naomi later on lost her husband and she was left with her two sons.
The book of esther, though divinely inspired scripture, doesnt mention god by any name or title. Ruths devotion to naomi and boaz devotion to ruth provide two compelling portraits of love among the people of god. And what the book of ruth does for us is give us a glimpse of the hidden work of god during the worst of times. In this lesson we will look at walking in hesed or. God led ruth to harvest in a field of her relative, boaz 2. The book of ruth demonstrates gods love for the gentiles, even in a period of history when the hebrew people were given prominence due to their role in gods redemptive plan for humanity. There are two books in the bible where god is not mentioned, the. Additions to the book of esther regarded by the catholic church as inspired do mention prayer, but these are not. The most likely suggestion is that ruth was able to leave the refuge of her father and mother in moab because she had found a refuge under the wings of god which was far superior. Christ in the story of ruth cross examined christian. So what does the book of ruth tell us about the sacrament of marriage.
The book of ruth abbreviated rth is included in the third division, or the writings ketuvim, of the hebrew bible. Is ruth the book that doesnt mention the word god answers. Her nationality was particularly odious to the jews deut 23. It is not only ruth and naomi who benefit from gods work in the book of ruth, for everyone who has been saved by the blood of the lord jesus christ has been saved by the offspring of. Jewish tradition points to samuel, but it is unlikely that he is the author because the mention of david implies a later date. What naomi does mention pertains to marriage and child bearing. Further, the literary style of hebrew used in ruth suggests that it was written during the period of the monarchy.
Why doesnt the book of esther directly mention god. But we must ask how ruths love for naomi and her leaving her own family relate to her seeking refuge under the wings of god. The book of ruth is a delightful drama that blossoms into the beautiful love story of boaz and ruth. Most books of the old testament mention prophets, who speak on god s behalf. There is not a version of the bible that doesnt mention god in the book of ruth. One distinguishing characteristic is that its the only biblical book that does not mention god by name. After all, its a classic tale of boy meets girl, of unexpected love discovered in the most routine of settings. Indeed, there is no direct reference to god at all. Then god saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. Ruth, a moabitess, stands out as a refreshing contrast to the declension of israel in the time of the judges. It is worthy of mention that the mother of boaz was rahab a canaanite. The 2 books of the bible that dont mention god overviewbible. Knowhy otl20a how does the book of ruth provide a model.
The book of ruth tells a touching story of the love and devotion of an ancestor of david and jesus christ. According to the biblical book of ruth, ruth was a moabite woman who married into an israelite family and eventually converted to judaism. According to the jewish historian josephus, judges and ruth were originally numbered together as one book. They repented of their sins and god had mercy on them. The exact date the book of ruth was written is uncertain. The book of esther does not mention god or prayer in its standard version.
It also contains some of the most memorable stories in all of scripture, not to mention numerous old. It is traditionally ascribed to the prophet samuel, but ruth s identity as a nonisraelite and the stress on the need for an inclusive attitude towards foreigners suggests an origin in the fifth century bc, when intermarriage had become controversial as seen in ezra 9. How does the book of ruth provide a model for marriage summary. Where is it said in the bible that boaz died the day after. Ruths story begins when an israelite woman, named naomi, and her husband, elimelech, leave their hometown of bethlehem. She is the greatgrandmother of king david and hence an ancestor of the messiah.
Waitwhy do some bibles mention the lord and some dont. This has led some modern scholars to claim that the book was originally intended as a purely secular history. The hidden symbolism you never saw in the book of ruth bible. However, the prevalent view is a date between 1011 and 931 b. First of all, that within the sacred bond of marriage there lies a symbol of the love of god for humanity. How do we see gods character and the gospel in the book. Even though many discriminated against her, god loved her just the same. Starting from the night ruth asked boaz to marry her 3. If any book in the bible demonstrates gods matchless grace and illustrates the divine plan of redemption, it is the book of ruth.
In our family we actually dont think too highly of esthers character. This short book, only four chapters, shows how god uses unexpected people in amazing ways. Ruth is praised by boaz for leaving kith and kin to adopt the god of israel. Book of ruth overview insight for living ministries. God is mentioned quite a few times throughout ruth, though he doesnt actually do much in the story. Our focus will be on ruths loyal love which goes far beyond the superficial contexts in which we sometimes use the word love. The story of ruth offers vital lessons to every generation and has enjoyed nearly universal acceptance by biblical scholars and critics throughout the centuries. We know that prayer and fasting is certainly a religious act associated with gods worship. All who accept gods way of life are included in the blessings of god. When god does something completely out of the ordinary, the bible credits him for it. Its because that phrase is really coming from just one hebrew word salhebetyah.
Most books of the old testament mention prophets, who speak on gods behalf. And although the book doesnt mention god by name, it mentions that esther prayed and fasted for three days before asking the king to save the jewish people and she also asked the jews to also do the same esther 4. The book of ruth is a beautiful story about gods faithfulness to his people. The book of ruth is one of the most moving accounts in the bible, a story of love and loyalty that is a stark contrast to todays cynical, throwaway society. Anderson included in this weeks article, the book of ruth establishes a model for marriage in three ways. The hidden symbolism you never saw in the book of ruth. Again and again the people rebelled, and from all outward appearances gods purposes for righteousness and glory in israel were failing. The book of ruth does not specifically name its author. Curiously, god is hardly mentioned in the book of ruth.
As the book reaches its conclusion, and the redemption of ruth and naomi is accomplished, we finally see how the musical themes in ruth parallel not just the lords redemption of israel from egypt, but christs redemption of his people from sin. In this article, i want to draw attention to yet another old testament parallel to christ. Ruth and the sovereignty of god long before ruth knew anything about god, god knew everything about her. God does not discriminate, and he loves all people just the same. The story begins with a famine in the days when the judges ruled ruth 1. But the greatest love displayed in this book is gods love for naomi and all of israel. I find that very interesting because the two books are so different.
So whether god is ever mentioned or not, this book contains a pivotal story in the march toward the coming of jesus. Boaz and ruth had great respect for one another, as. This was a time when the people of israel had abandoned gods ways and fallen into idolatry, horrific social conditions, and a disastrous civil war, as told in the chapters of judges immediately preceding the book of. She was willing to disobey gods law by sleeping with the king. According to an insightful presentation by catholic bible scholar gary a. The book of ruth is a love story, but it is far more than a romance. Her two sons found wives, ruth and orpah, but 10 years later, both sons died as well. For traditional jewish commentators, the absence of gods name did not mean that god was absent from the book.