Ruth

 After reading Judges, the book of Ruth is like a breath of fresh air.  We leave the warfare and political strife, and take a peak into the lives of normal people who are trying to do what is right. 

Why do we have the Book of Ruth?  

After the Babylonian captivity, Josiah was zealous to set temple and religious observance back on course.  Since they were in captivity for about 70 years, or two generations more or less, Josiah wanted a way to verify who were true Isrealites, and who were legally able to serve in the Temple. He, therefore, required people to produce geneologies that showed that each was:

     1. of Israel, and/or 

    2. eligible to serve in the Temple, i.e. Levite or Aaronic descendency. 

 The right to work as a priest was handed down father to son, but the identity of being a Israelite was determined through the mother.  So far in the Old Testament, all the stories where non-Hebrew women play a primary role are included because those women are ancestors of prominant Israeli leaders. This is the case here.  Ruth was the great grandmother of David, so we need a story to show how she, born a Moabite, was adopted into the house of Israel. 

Symbolism in Ruth. 

Some of the podcasts I listened to tried to see a lot of symbolism in the book of Ruth.  I must admit that their arguements are not as compelling as some of those in favor of symbolism elsewhere.  There is some symbolism in their names.  Naomi נﬠמי means "pleasant" and Ruth רוּת means friendship. After Naomi's husband and sons die, she wants people to call her "Mara" which means, "bitter".  beyond that  I really think this is just a sweet story about good people being kind to each other. 

Culture.

This book gives a lot of insight into how the Law of Moses was enacted in people's lives.  We see the rule from Leviticus 9:19 that farmers were to leave the grain in the corners of their fields for the poor. It also shows how an extended family unit was supposed to run.  There was a family chief who had the responsibility to take care of any woman who was widowed, or of anyone who was having financial problems. It was often the eldest son of the eldest son.  Later this role was called the Father of the Family, but here it is called "Near Kinsman." Below that person, there were leaders of smaller family units.  In this story Boaz was not the highest "kinsman" in charge of taking care of the widow, Naomi, but he was a second tier "kinsman," so that is why he had to check with the chief kinsman to see if it was OK to marry Ruth. This family structure is a reason why it would not be odd for a Jew to call Jesus both a father and a son.  He was the Son of God, but had the role of Father of the family, or the eldest brother who was in charge of redeming other family members. 

Story Line.

The story is about how Ruth becomes converted, but it is also a story about how Naomi leaves home, becomes bereft, returns to home, and is redemed.  It is also, I think, a romance.  Even though Boaz was older, he seems to have really fallen for Ruth as soon as he saw her.  It is cute when she proposes to him, that he is so pleased that a young beautiful woman would choose him over  a younger man.  But why not?  He was very nice to Ruth, and she knew she could trust him to treat her right.  When Boaz marries Ruth, Naomi's future is secured.  She takes up the role of nursemaid to her grandchildren, and is called blessed.