The story of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges which began in ~1427 B.C. with the death of Joshua and did not end until the prophet Samuel came on the scene in ~1171 B.C. It is probable but not provable from Jewish genealogies that the story of Ruth takes place in the great famine immediately before the story of Gideon. If that is so, the dates of Ruth's life would be somewhere around 1260 B.C. The time of Judges was a dark era for Israel and was marked by the people repeatedly falling into idolatry and being punished by God by famines, droughts, and victorious enemies. After the conquest of the promised land by Joshua, God had desired for Israel to be governed by His laws directly and so no king was appointed. Every few decades or so, God would allow a temporary leader to rise up and try to lead Israel back to God. These were called "Judges." No one judge plays a prominent role in the story of Ruth.

The book of Ruth was probably later written by the prophet Samuel. The story is recorded because Ruth became King David's Great-Grandmother, and thus a part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). This is remarkable because Ruth was born a Gentile in the country of Moab. That she was a Moabite was even more remarkable because the Moabites worshipped idols and believed in temple prostitution as well as human sacrifice. When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, God forbade them to pass through Moab or have anything to do with Moab. When the children of Israel camped nearby Moab, the Moabite king hired the false prophet Balaam to try to curse them and then caused God to bring a plague upon the Israelites by enticing them to eat meat offered to their idols and commit fornication with their temple prostitutes. After these events, God made it clear that Israel was not to settle in Moab or have anything to do with the land. Ruth started with everything against her and yet ended up as a Great-Grandmother of king David and King Jesus! The book of Ruth is the story of how that transformation happened and this brings us to the first key point and central theme of Ruth: 1.) No matter what situation that you are born into, you can be blessed and exalted in the kingdom of God if you will put Him first in every area of your life!

There are many other lessons represented within the story of Ruth and the pages are full of typology. The man that Ruth marries, Boaz, is a beautiful type of Christ and the law of the kinsman redeemer is one of the most elegant portrait of Calvary in the Old Testament. The name Ruth means "friendship" and the story of Ruth's loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi, is a portrait of a true friend. In addition, the land of Moab represents a cheap substitute for the promised land of God. As we get into the story, remembering these three points as well as the central theme of Ruth will help us apply these principles to our lives today.

The Main Storyline

The story of Ruth begins with the story of a wealthy Jewish man named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion. They lived in the city of Bethlehem during the time of the Judges. God sent a great food shortage throughout the land because of the Israelites' idolatry, and so Elimelech decided to leave the promised land of God, sell all of his belongings, and move the family to nearby Moab. This, of course, was in direct rebellion to the commandment of God concerning the land of Moab, but Elimelech decided to run from his problems with God rather than take a stand and try to teach his family to live godly and righteously in Bethlehem.

The land of Moab was on a raised plain where the rain was always consistent and the harvest seemingly plentiful. To the west and north of the plain was high, impassable cliffs. To the east and south, were mountains and a great river. There was only one road into the land of Moab and one road out, called "the King's Highway." The Moabites were not great warriors, but they did not have to be because of their country's natural defenses. They had only to guard the one road and the country was secure. This was the main reason that God did not want the Israelites passing through the land, because God knew that when the children of Israelites saw how easy that they could guard the land themselves and how consistent the harvest was, that they would rather settle there than go to the promised land where they would have to continually trust God and rely upon His strength. Moab, then represents a cheap substitute of what God really desires to give His people. By going to Moab, Elimelech was choosing to trust his own resources and his own intellect rather than stand for truth and place his care in God's hand. Had Elimelech stayed in Bethlehem, taken a stand for serving the true God, and trained his family to do so by example, then God would have taken care of them and supplied all of their needs even if the entire country was in a famine or drought. Elimelech did not react in faith to God and had more faith in his own ability to survive. This brings us to an important truth to understand in serving God: 2.) There will always be a shortcut or cheap substitute for the true will of God such as Moab available in your life that you must avoid at all costs. There will be an easier way appear to you than obeying God's Word and many people get sidetracked in their walk with God by choosing a spiritual Moab for their inheritance.

Many people claim to be a Christian without really allowing God to change every area of their life. Some want Pentecostal power without a Pentecostal prayer life or fasting. Some want to seem religious but do not want to sacrifice their own personal goals or agendas for the will of God. Some choose not to become faithful and sold out to the truth no matter what the situations of their financial or family life may be. They are settling for a spiritual Moab. The name "Elimelech" means "God is my king." God may have been his king, but He was not Elimelech's Lord. A king rules from a distance and makes general laws. A Lord or master directs and guides everyday decisions of life of their servants. Jesus Christ is to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our lives! He is either everything to us or nothing at all. God cares about our life outside of the church house. He wants to be Lord of all. God's perfect design for our life will always include enemies and tests so that we will trust in Him completely. It is God's will for you to be victorious over the enemies that oppress you through obedience and trust in Him, not to live in a land where you do not need to fight. God knows that if we have no reason to fight, then we grow spiritually lax and lazy. You cannot live for God in Moab with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

So Elimelech decided that he could take care of himself better out of the promised land of God. To him, Moab better suited his lifestyle, but things did not go well in Moab. Almost immediately after moving to Moab, Elimelech died. His two sons did not fare well either. They married two Moabite girls who served strange gods and did not serve the true Jehovah God of Israel. One of these girls was named Orpah; the other was named Ruth. God did not bless Mahlon and Chilion or their families. Their wives were barren for ten years of marriage. "Mahlon" means "sickness" and after a decade of suffering, he finally died. "Chilion" means "grieving" and after a decade of grieving and depression, he finally died. In the meantime, they lost everything that they owned and were subject to live in poverty. 3.) Settling for a cheap substitute to the plan of God in your life such as Moab will always end in disaster, both for you and your family.

Elimelech's widow, Naomi was left with her two widowed daughter-in-laws. But Naomi was different from the men of her family. Naomi believed and trusted in the one, true, Jehovah God of Israel. Her life and dreams were torn apart, but she determined to leave Moab as soon as possible and return to Bethlehem of the land the God had given His people. Her attitude was "if I must die old and bitter and depressed, then it would be better to do so in the hands of a merciful God rather than in the land of the heathen." It was a 120 mile trek through rugged mountains and valleys from Moab to Bethlehem, but Naomi was determined to get back to the promises of God as soon as she could!

So Naomi gathered her meager belongings that she could easily carry and she called her grieving daughter-in-laws to her to bid them farewell. Orpah and Ruth were young and pretty. They still had plenty of time to find themselves another husband and raise a family. Naomi did not want to be a burden upon their lives and so it was much better if they all say goodbye and go their separate ways. They all cried at the time of departure as Naomi outlined her plans to return to Israel. Finally, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye for the last time and walked out the door to begin a new life in her old country. But Ruth was different. She looked at her mother-in-law about to make a dangerous trek through the mountains alone to live the rest of her life in poverty as a widow and she decided that she would go with Naomi. Naomi tried to dissuade her from giving up her young life by clinging to an old and broken woman, but Ruth would not be turned aside. In our text we read the classic words of a true friend in Ruth's petition to Naomi after the old woman had told Ruth to go back to her old lifestyle and her own gods:

Notice that Ruth did not mention "Elimelech's God" or "her husband's God," but "Naomi's God!" In fact, Ruth called Him by His name, "Jehovah." Naomi had taught her daughter-in-laws about the one, true God of Israel. Ruth had never felt His presence, and had never seen Him work one miracle. She had never stood at His temple in Jerusalem and listened to others pray or worship Him. She had been introduced to this true God by three men who did not serve Him very faithfully, but by the testimony of one elderly lady that, by herself, had decided to be faithful to God, something had clicked in Ruth's mind and she believed that this God was the true God of heaven, and she believed it so much that she was willing to leave her family, her homeland, her inheritances, and her culture in order to simply live as a stranger in a place where she could learn more about this God! Orpah settled for her personal Moab by returning to her comfort zone, but as for Ruth, she could never go back to living like a Moabite and serving their gods. She had heard of and seen in the life of Naomi a God that was much greater than anything that Moab had to offer! There are several mighty points about serving God that we can learn here. 4.) The most powerful witness is the testimony of a life that is faithful to God despite whatever anyone does or whatever may happen. It is a greater witness than miracles, feeling the presence of God, or even tradition! 5.) God will exalt those who are willing to give up everything to serve Him, no matter how great the cost and will bless them far beyond anything that they could ever receive on their own. Orpah fades from the view of history. She probably had a family and a normal, Moab life and died lost. Ruth on the other hand, became synonymous with King David and Jesus Christ, two of her great-grandsons and is well known throughout the world almost 4,000 years later. Ruth gained everything that Orpah gained by staying in Moab and yet also gained so much more!

Naomi and Ruth made it safely down that 120 mile trek to Bethlehem. The arrived right at the beginning of barley harvest which corresponds with our first of March. Naomi was too old to work and so Ruth began to join the other poor people who went behind the reapers in the barley fields and picked up the stray barley that was missed. If she worked hard from sunrise to sunset, Ruth could just get enough food to feed her and Naomi for one day. The scriptures say that the people of Bethlehem were shocked at the appearance and condition of Naomi when she returned. She had been the wife of one of the more prominent men in the city when she had left, and yet had returned with nothing except a strange Moabite daughter-in-law to help her.

But God had seen Ruth's desire and hunger to learn about Him. Just "by chance" Ruth found herself after a few weeks gleaning barley in a field that belonged to a man named Boaz. Boaz was the richest man in all of Bethlehem. He was also a relative of Elimelech and was unmarried. Ruth, of course, did not know any of this. She was just trying to provide for her and her mother-in-law. This brings us to an important lesson to learn about life: 6.) If you will entrust your life to God and devote yourself to making a positive difference in other people's life, then God will work "behind the scenes" to bless you even when it seems that life has become a chore. Ruth was simply trying to help Naomi and survive herself, but the God that she was just beginning to learn more about was already orchestrating her life.

Boaz showed up one day to routinely check on his reapers. As his eyes scanned the familiar crowd of the poor that were always present at the yearly harvest, he noticed a young woman whom he had never seen before. He asked the foreman of the reapers, "who is that young woman there?" And the foreman told Boaz that it was "Ruth, the Moabitess that came with Naomi from a far country." Boaz had heard of the kindness of Ruth to Naomi, his relative but had never actually met her. Apparently the story of how Ruth had traveled with Naomi, helped make her comfortable in Bethlehem, and worked to provide food had traveled around the town! Boaz had also heard how that Ruth had become believer in the true God of Israel and had sold out to Jehovah God (Ruth 2:12). Boaz repaid kindness with kindness and commanded the reapers to protect Ruth and to treat her with respect. He also asked that Ruth would not glean in anyone else's field but his and that she could drink from the water bucket that was usually only reserved for the paid workers. Boaz also invited her to eat supper with him and the paid workers and secretly commanded that they drop on purpose extra barley for her to collect throughout the day. When Ruth went home that night, she had seven and a half gallons of barley! Naomi was shocked to see that Ruth had more than enough for their meal and asked her "in whose field did you glean today." As Ruth told her about meeting Boaz and all that had happened, Naomi remembered that Boaz was closely related to Elimelech. She did not say anything about how the law of Moses worked but filed the information away for later. Throughout the next few months and into the summer, Ruth faithfully worked in the fields of Boaz where she reaped barley and then wheat and provided for her mother-in-law.

The primary lesson that can be learned here is: 7.) Your actions toward other people create your "luck." Boaz was kind to Ruth simply because that he had heard about her faithfulness to God and her loving friendship and kindness to Naomi. What goes around does come around. More often than not, how the majority of people treat us is based upon our reputation for kindness and friendship or the lack thereof. There is something about a sincere person who is helping others that causes others to want to help them. There is something about someone who is stingy or unfriendly that causes others to treat them the same way. Jesus said "as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." (Luke 6:31) That is more than just a good saying, but is the secret to being blessed by God. Jesus went on to say in verse 35 of Luke 6 that if you lived by that commandment: "your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest." And, just like He used Boaz, God does use other people to bless you. Notice the following scripture:

Some people are not just "more lucky than others." Everyone is judged according to how they treat other people. Ruth was blessed by Boaz because of how she had treated Naomi!

After the harvest was fully reaped, then began the "winnowing" of the barley and wheat. The barley was beaten on a threshing floor, and then was thrown up into the air. The breeze would blow away the "chaff" or unusable parts and leave only the edible part of the plant to be picked up from the floor. Winnowing was usually performed at night because of the brisker breeze in that region after sunset. Naomi knew about the law of the kinsman redeemer and she had waited until the time was right for Ruth to be able to approach Boaz without anyone else around. Naomi knew that during the threshing and winnowing, that only Boaz and a few workers would be present at the threshing floor.

The law of the kinsman redeemer is found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10 and was this: if a man died and left his wife without any children, the brother or nearest kin to the deceased man was to marry the widow and produce children with her. These children were considered the offspring of the deceased brother and would keep the family name continuing strong despite his untimely death. When he married the widow of his deceased brother, the kinsman also had to pay off all of his brother's debts and assume any business responsibilities left undone. He therefore was called the "kinsman redeemer" because he redeemed the widow from the debt with which she had been left. If the nearest brother or kinsman refused to "redeem" and marry the widow, then the right would pass onto the next of kin. If they agreed to marry the woman, then either the widow or the one who was going to redeem her would meet in the gates of the city where all business transactions were performed with the one who had refused to be the kinsman redeemer. Then the redeemer would spit in the other man's face as a sign of contempt that he refused to fulfill his legal obligation and then take off the man's shoe and show it to the men of the city. Sometimes, if the kinsman had a good reason to not redeem the widow, then the spitting was omitted or was performed upon the ground in front of the man. To "place one's foot upon something" was to assume control and authority of it in Biblical times (see Joshua 10:24), so loosing the man's shoe and holding it up to the elders symbolized that the kinsman redeemer was taking the responsibility for the woman and her debts and assuming control and responsibility for her. To not perform this duty was not a little thing, and the person who refused to obey it and passed the duty on to another would forever be known as a man "whose shoe was loosed," which was a high insult to manliness back then.

Naomi informed Ruth of the kinsman redeemer law and instructed her to approach Boaz alone and inform him that he was the near kinsman to her and thus obligated under the law to marry her. Ruth bathed and put on fresh clothing and perfume. She then waited until it was late enough that Boaz would have eaten and retired for the night at the threshing floor. She then slipped down to the floor at night and into his tent, pulled back the covers from his feet, and laid down on the floor below his feet. During the middle of the night, Boaz turned and suddenly realized that a woman was in the tent with him and that his feet were uncovered. He was quite startled until he realized that it was Ruth. She looked at him, motioned to his bare feet, and said "you are a near kinsman to me, will you marry me?" By uncovering his feet first, she was basically saying "will you forever be someone whose shoe is loosed, or will you fulfill your obligation according to God's law toward me?" All of this sounds strange to us, but was actually quite normal in Jewish times. Both Boaz and Ruth were fully dressed. Workers were outside the tent and they had seen her go into the tent. There was nothing unethical about this arrangement in those days.

To Ruth's surprise, Boaz did not reject her but actually blessed her for coming to him for marriage. He was a bit older than many of the available men and was single and lonely. He had been the one who had noticed the young, pretty stranger in his field at first and asked about her. Boaz told Ruth that he would gladly marry her and redeem her debts, but that there was actually another kinsman that was closer in relation to Naomi than he. This is probably the reason that Boaz had never propositioned Ruth in the first place. Boaz promised that first thing in the morning, he would leave the threshing floor and ask the other nearer kinsman if he would like to buy redeem and marry Ruth. If he would not, then Boaz promised that he would marry her. Boaz commanded all that had seen Ruth come to him not to tell anyone so that he would surprise the other kinsman and as morning came, Ruth went back to Naomi to await her fate with a bunch of winnowed barley as a gift from Boaz to remind her of his promise.

Boaz got up and went straight to the gate of the city where the elders and leaders of the city were. He waited until the nearer kinsman was entering into the gate and called for him to turn aside and conduct some business with him. After assembling a jury of ten of the city elders, Boaz presented his case to the man. He told him that "our relative Elimelech died and left his widow Naomi in severe debt." "There is a piece of land that you are required by law to purchase and redeem." The man immediately responded with "no problem, I will do it no matter what the land costs." Then Boaz threw in the catch: "But Elimelech's oldest son has a widow named Ruth and if you purchase the land, you must also marry her and your children will be considered Elimelech's offspring." When confronted with this extra information, the man excused himself from the deal and took off his shoe saying "I already have a wife and children, and I do not want to bring dissension in my home by marrying another." "You may have the rights to redeem the land and marry Ruth." Boaz then made a solemn promise before the elders to do just that. Because he was delighted to marry Ruth, he did not even bother with the spitting part!

The law of the kinsman redeemer seems to us archaic and pointless, but it was actually to teach us an important lesson about Jesus Christ. In the Garden of Eden when man sinned, there was a death of a relationship with God, and all of his offspring, like Ruth, was born in a place of compromise and idolatry. Spiritually speaking, we are born into sin and need to be redeemed from the debt and bondage of that sin. For us to be redeemed, we must be redeemed and engaged to someone who was "near of kin." When God became flesh by being born of Mary, He became our " near kin." He was like us, but without the debt of sin. That is why, even though Jesus Christ was God Himself come in flesh, He is referred to as the "Son of God." He was the kinsman redeemer come to purchase a bride for Himself, but this time the purchase price was His blood upon Calvary! When Jesus Christ died and shed His blood, then Satan became as "one whose shoe was loosed" and lost his dominion and authority and power over the Apostolic Church, the bride of Christ! That is why God told Satan outside of the Garden of Eden:

The seed of the woman would one day crush the head of Satan's power over mankind! Jesus Christ became our kinsman redeemer and did just that at Calvary! 8.) Jesus became our kinsman redeemer at Calvary and took dominion from Satan so that you and I could be "the bride of Christ!" The Book of Ruth is a very powerful type of the work of Jesus Christ as our kinsman redeemer. When Jesus Christ came on the scene, John the Baptist preached about Him saying "He is greater than me" and "His shoe I am unworthy to loose." In other words, John the Baptist could not take on the responsibility of redeeming the world himself, but would leave it up to Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ kept His shoes on because He was the kinsman redeemer.

There is one other point to note about the law of the kinsman redeemer in that we also have to fulfill this law. One day somebody made a big deal about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers and sisters being nearby and Jesus responded by saying:

Those of us who serve Jesus Christ are not only symbolically the bride of Christ, but we are also spiritually his brothers. Our older brother died, so to fulfill the law of the kinsman redeemer, we must raise up children in our deceased brother's name! We do that by winning people to God and seeing them born again of the water and the Spirit! If I do not win others, then I am not fulfilling the law of the kinsman redeemer. In the book of Revelation, the church of Laodicea had grown lukewarm and was not on fire for Jesus Christ or winning people to God. Jesus told them, "I will spue you out of my mouth." Why would He say such a thing? Because they were not fulfilling their role as a kinsman redeemer. We must win others to Jesus Christ and raise up seed to our older brother! 9.) We fulfill the law of the kinsman redeemer of raising up seed to our older brother by winning others to this born again experience!

Boaz and Ruth married and God opened the womb that had not been able to have children for ten years! Their first son was named Obed and his son became Jesse who had King David. Thus because of her faith and trust in God and her kindness to Naomi, Ruth went from being born into an idolatrous nation that was rejected of God to being in the lineage of the great King David! Ruth had no idea that making that decision to accompany Naomi would cause her to marry the richest man in Bethlehem. At the time that Ruth showed herself friendly, Naomi had absolutely nothing to offer Ruth. 10.) If you will go out of your way to befriend people that cannot obviously help you in any way, then God will make sure that one of them in turn blesses you with the greatest blessing of your life!

Ruth was not only blessed by marrying the richest man in town and having a family that would produce King David, but she also became a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ the Messiah! She went from a barren idolater to a grand mother of the King of Kings simply by being willing to forsake all in serving God. The city that Ruth picked up barley in, became the city in which Jesus Christ was born. No matter what situation that you were born into, you can be a success, if you will love and trust God completely and allow yourself to be changed by His Word!

Ruth is one of only four women who were mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. All four are a great lesson of mercy and forgiveness and prove that Jesus Christ was born as a near kinsman to sinful humanity. Thamar was a prostitute who became pregnant with the child of Judah. Rahab was the Gentile prostitute who helped the spies in Jericho. Ruth was a Gentile idolater who became the great-grandmother of David. Bathsheba was the woman with whom David committed adultery with and then murder. God can make something worthwhile out of the vilest sinner's life!

We have seen that the Book of Ruth was written to tell some of King David's history by Samuel. We must remember that Samuel died BEFORE King David actually became king. Samuel anointed David, but Saul was still the king when the prophet died, therefore Samuel wrote the book confident that after his death, God's Word would come to pass just as it had said! It did.

The Chaldee Targum, a book of Jewish additions to the scripture written by the Pharisees, says that Ruth was the daughter of the king of Moab, Eglon. For this to be true then Boaz would have to be the judge Ibzan. Some Jewish rabbis teach this for facts and some Christians believe it as well. It is very doubtful that this is true because of four important points: 1. It is very unlikely that the daughter of the King of Moab would marry a foreigner as weak and as unimportant as the son of Elimelech. 2. If Boaz was such an important figure in Israel's history as a judge and he married a woman as prominent as the daughter of a Moabite King, then why was this fact NEVER mentioned in the book of Ruth even though it was written some time after the fact!? 3. There is no famine mentioned during the time of the Judge Ibzan (Judges 12:8-10). Also, Ibzan had 30 sons and 30 daughters, a very prominent fact that is never mentioned about Boaz. It is very likely for a man to have 60 children, that he had to have more than one wife at a time, and yet another wife is never mentioned in the story of Ruth. 4. The Chaldee Targum adds many things to many other scriptures which have been proven false by archeology and other scriptures and cannot be considered as a reliable source.

When David's son, King Solomon, built his great temple for the Lord, there were two great columns in front of the temple that were named. One of them was named "Boaz" after Ruth's husband. This was symbolical that the story of Boaz was a type and shadow of the "temple" to come, in the form of Jesus Christ (see John 2:19-21). It also teaches us that since Spirit-filled believer's bodies are "temples of the Holy Ghost" (see I Corinthians 6:19), we must be fashioned after Boaz and fulfill the role of the kinsman redeemer by winning others to our older brother, Jesus Christ.

1.) No matter what situation that you are born into, you can be blessed and exalted in the kingdom of God if you will put Him first in every area of your life!

4.) The most powerful witness is the testimony of a life that is faithful to God despite whatever anyone does or whatever may happen. It is a greater witness than miracles, feeling the presence of God, or even tradition!

8.) Jesus became our kinsman redeemer at Calvary and took dominion from Satan so that you and I could be "the bride of Christ!"