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March 24, 2025

Bible Survey: Ruth

by Jason Neill

Scripture reading: Ruth 1-4

This week, we continue our Bible survey by exploring the book of Ruth. If you love classic love stories, Ruth will surely captivate you! Though its events unfold during a spiritually dark time in Israel’s history, overlapping with the period of the Judges (see Ruth 1:1), the book offers a refreshing ray of hope.

The final chapters of Judges recount two horrific stories that characterize this dark time in Israel's life. During this period, "everyone did what was right in their own eyes," a reflection of moral relativism taking hold in the nation.

Authorship and Date: Jewish tradition attributes the authorship of the Book of Ruth to the prophet Samuel. It was likely written during the reign of King David, sometime after 1011 B.C., when David ascended to the throne, as he is explicitly mentioned in the text (see Ruth 4:18-22).

Ruth. The book is brief, consisting of just four chapters. Chapter 1:1-18 takes place in Moab, while the remaining chapters unfold in Bethlehem, which would later be known as the city of David (see Luke 2:4). The remaining content of the book can be summarized as follows: Chapter 2—Ruth meets Boaz; Chapter 3—Ruth expresses her desire to marry Boaz; and Chapter 4—Boaz marries Ruth.

To fully understand this story, it’s important to recognize that Ruth is a Gentile, a Moabite. However, she embraced the God of her husband and her mother-in-law, Naomi. The stage for the story is set in the first chapter when tragedy strikes—Naomi loses her husband, followed by the death of her two sons. In the wake of these losses, Naomi plans to return to Bethlehem, as there is famine in the land. She encourages her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to return to Moab. Orpah decides to return to her homeland, but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi’s side and chooses to journey with her to Bethlehem.

While Ruth was working in the fields gathering grain, Boaz, a near relative of Naomi, noticed her. 'Whose young woman is this?' he asked (see 2:5, NKJV). There was something unique about Ruth that caught Boaz’s attention. In response, he showed favor to her, allowing her to glean in the fields and promising her protection (see 2:8-9). In Chapter 3, Ruth expresses her desire to marry Boaz, and in Chapter 4, he marries her. The final verses of Chapter 4 reveal that Ruth and Boaz have a son named Obed, who became the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, who would eventually rule as king and be part of the family line through which the Messiah would come (see Matthew 1:5-6; Luke 3:31-32)

Jesus in Ruth. Boaz is described as redeeming Ruth in this book (see Chapter 4). However, due to differences in time and culture, these customs can be difficult for us to fully understand. To better understand this cultural aspect of the book, please read Leviticus 25:25-28, which discusses the redemption of property, and Deuteronomy 25:5-10, which outlines the regulation of levirate marriage. Boaz redeemed Ruth from her life of poverty, just as Jesus has redeemed us from spiritual poverty. Before believing in Jesus for eternal life, we were spiritually bankrupt. Our condition was hopeless unless God intervened on our behalf, which He did (see John 19:30; Romans 5:8; Hebrews 10:12).  

Application. Ruth is a powerful example of trusting God and remaining loyal during times of distress. One of the key lessons I learned in seminary about the Christian life is that following Jesus involves both trusting Him and obeying Him. This is beautifully captured in the words of the old hymn: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”