Ruth's redemption and the people of Israel

I have been reading through the book of Ruth the last few days as part of the Bible Reading Plan I have been doing and I was struck by a couple of things.

1. Humanity

There is real warmth to the story of the book of Ruth. It begins with a horriffic tragedy, Naomi losing her husband and two sons, making her a widow and putting her in desparate circumstances. Ruth, (A Moabitess, not a Jew), is her daughter -in-law, and makes a decision to stick with her motheri-in-law, even though it severely reduces her opportunity of gaining a new husband. Ruth's care and concern for another in a hopeless situation, to the point of such personal sacrifice, is a poignant aspect of the first few chapters. Ruth becomes a follower of Yahweh, the God of the Jews, and works hard to put food on the table. The story ends well as she captures the heart of Boaz, who redeems her, becoming her new husband.

2. History

The final few verses of the book reminded me of the massive implications of this story for the rest of the Bible, and history itself. Ruth and Boaz have a son together, Obed, who went on to become the father of Jesse, the father of King David, who altered the course of history through his rule over Israel. How unsearchable are the plans of God, that he would use the outcasts and foreigners in the genealogy of King David, and ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ as well.

And so, Ruth is not simply a touching story, with a happy-feel-good ending, but also another key example of the love of God for the world, seen through his plan to redeem the world, and use the world, to bring about his purposes.