Ruth: A Moabite
by Pastor Ronald Boelte
When reading the book of Ruth, you will, no doubt, be captured by the
simplicity of the story. But, if you read this story purely for
entertainment you will be missing an opportunity to experience God on a
very familiar level. This narrative is one of a deep and subtle theology.
It is a story of God's presence and providence in the everyday lives of
ordinary people.
Ruth captures the love of all those she comes in contact with, even
though as a Moabite she was to be shunned by the people of Israel. As we
read this biblical book, it tells the story of the reversal of fortunes
for Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi.
The story's time is set in the period of Israel's judges, and takes
place in the agrarian world of Moab and the environs of Bethlehem. It can
be divided into a series of scenes or episodes with each telling a
different narrator's story of Ruth's and Naomi's fortunes as they try to
survive.
In the Jewish tradition, Ruth is one of the five Megilloth (scrolls
read for Jewish festivals) and is read at the Feast of Weeks. In a social
context of Jewish tradition, the book Ruth speaks against racism of any
sort. Israel accepts Ruth (a native of Moab) into Israel's genealogical
mainstream and the book into the Hebrew canon.
Ruth is understood by Jews and Christians alike as a finely crafted
historical short story, and the literary artistry of Ruth speaks to all as
having multiple contexts and is multi-purposed for all its readers.
Religiously, the book tells the story of the faith of Naomi and Ruth and
shows the ways of God in one unique family situation. A framework of
devotion is deployed in the story and is variously applied to Ruth, Naomi,
Boaz, and Yahweh (God).
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