Ruth Overview

Overview

No Scripture gives a better picture of a Redeemer than the story of Ruth. In and of itself, Ruth is a love story involving a woman who married into an Israelite family living in her country of Moab. She is blessed to have a widowed mother-in-law she would grow to love like her own mother. Even after her husband dies, she clings to her mother-in-law, following her to Israel. In a land that is not known for being kind to Moabites, she finds acceptance and love. That would be enough to write a novel and even have it adapted into a story for the big screen, yet there is much more.

This story is more than a simple love story of a man and a woman who meet and fall in love. It's also about Naomi, the mother-in-law. Naomi and her husband walked away from GOD's protection and trusted in their own understanding, they had little faith in their GOD to care for them in difficult times. In this story we learn about GOD's love for those of us who are in need of HIS loving forgiveness and how HE made a provision for us to get back in HIS good grace and find eternal peace and happiness. For Naomi and Ruth their redeemer was Boaz, and for us Boaz is a type of Christ,. They both fulfilled all the requirements of the law needed for us to get back into GOD's good grace.

1) The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2) Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.
3) Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram
4) Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.
5) Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,

Overview of

The Book of Ruth

1.) Due to a famine, A Bethlehemite decides to move to Moab with his family.

  a.) Man – Elimelech  (“God is King”)

  b.) Wife – Naomi  (“the sweet one”)

  c.) Eldest – Mahlon  (“sick” or “infirmity”)

  d.) Youngest – Chilion  (“pining” or ”to wither away”)

2.) Elimelech dies and leaves Naomi a widow with two sons 

3.) The sons marry Moabite girls 

  a.) Mahlon takes Ruth as a wife

  b.) Chilion takes Orpah as a wife

4.) After 10 years both sons die and leave Naomi and her daughter-in-laws widows

  a.) Neither woman had children 

5.) Naomi releases both women from any obligation and decides to return to her homeland

6.) Orpah stays in Moab but Ruth follows Naomi to Bethlehem

7.) Ruth gleans at field owned by Boaz a relative of her mother in-laws deceased husband         Elimelech

8.) At first meeting Boaz falls for Ruth

9.) Upon learning of Boaz’s affection for Ruth, Naomi begins planning a wedding, Levirate Law (Leviticus 25:23-27)

10.) Naomi sends Ruth to Boaz with the hope that he will redeem the family inheritance

11.) Boaz is thrilled with Ruth’s request, but tells her he must a closer kin the first chance to be redeemer (Deuteronomy 25:5-10)

12.) Closer Kinsman declines, Boaz steps forward and redeems Naomi’s estate and marries Ruth

13.) Boaz has a male child with Ruth, they name him Obed

14.) Obed has a son named Jesse, who in turn has a son named David

The Levirate law is from the Latin levir, (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) which means brother-in-law. It was the arrangement embodied in the Mosaic Law going back to remote antiquity before Moses, which was intended to perpetuate the family name and preserve family rights of inheritance in the case of a man who died without male heir. The solution was simple. The dead man’s brother, or failing him, the nearest male relative, must take the widow in marriage and the first son born to that marriage would take the dead man’s name and be accounted his legal son and heir, inheriting the dead man’s estate and carrying on the family line.

The idea of redemption in the Old Testament comes from the Levitical laws concerning one's ancestral land which has been sold.

 

 'The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; 

for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.  'Thus for every piece 

of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.  

'If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, 

then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. 

 'Or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient 

for its redemption,  then he shall calculate the years since its sale and 

refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property.

(Leviticus 25:23-27)

Money is paid according to law to buy back something which must be delivered or rescued (Numbers 3:51 Nehemiah 5:8).  From this the word, “redemption”, we get the general understanding of deliverance. We are Naomi, the land is our promised inheritance in Heaven. We lost it when Adam sinned by walking away from GOD by sinning. To redeem what was sold, we needed one who was qualified to step in to fulfill the letter of the law. In Namoi’s case it was Boaz, in our case it is Christ Jesus.