General Comments on the book of Ruth This book is quite unlike that which precedes and that which follows. The preceding books are about the Law, conquering Canaan, and the apostasy cycle of Israel. Here is a touching story about a family that falls on hard times. It is something like Judah's pathos filled interlude in Gen. 44 where he pleads for Benjamin's life. We discover that these are real people with real feelings having terribly difficult experiences where their faith and fear of God gets them through. Thus, we take a break from the commands, revelations, wars, and apostasy to see the more mundane things of ordinary life. No earth shattering revelations, no overwhelming theophany, no massive lectures on obscure doctrine, no complicated liturgy. But isn't that what life really is about? Life is filled with the mundane, and only punctuated by the overwhelming (and that typically when the going gets rough or is about to get rough). So, the book of Ruth is a book about praxis, the living of religion. It is also about the subtlety of God in manifesting His Providence. The book largely deals with two subjects, one being the character of this woman Ruth. The other being the levir's duty. First, Ruth is presented as a woman of strong convictions with regard to Israelite religion. She marries an Israelite and after she is widowed she remains faithful to the religion and stays with her mother-in-law when her other sister-in-law returns to her Gentile ways. Implicit in this is Ruth's loyalty to the Lord and her willingness to put her trust in His Laws in that the levir's duty will be fulfilled despite her mother-in-law, also a widow, not being in any position to have additional sons. Her faith is ultimately rewarded by a set of providential circumstances where she ends up running into a man who would fall under the levir's duty and he acknowledges as much and they end up marrying. The second subject, which is the underlying subject of the entire book, is that of the levir's duty. The LDS Edition KJV Bible Dictionary does a good job of explaining this practice and providing citations so I won't go on about it. The one thing we have to remember here is that Ruth's family was outside of Israel for a considerable time, she was not an Israelite, and there were no immediate relatives to appeal to in order to fulfil the levir's duty. Note when they return to the lands of Judah Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, does not immediately go about trying to get Ruth a new husband using that practice. They know they aren't in any position to make such a demand. This indicates how much faith Ruth had, knowing full well that she had little practical hope of ever finding a husband who would be able to take care of her. This means she knew full well she was going into a bleak situation where she would have to pretty much bear the lot of a beggar-widow until she died. Fortunately for her, God saw her great faith and engineered the situation in her favor. The question we have to ask ourselves is, "Why is this story of mundane agriculturalists which is some 3000 years old even relevant?" I think it is relevant because of what the characters of Ruth and Boaz tell us. They serve as types of average people who live faithfully and therefore enjoy the Lord's Providence and they end up living "Happily Ever After". All of want to live "Happily Ever After", and so we must therefore be like Ruth and Boaz. Lets consider the woman Ruth and the man Boaz: The Woman --------- 1:4 Moabite (cp. Deut. 23:3), yet among Israel 1:11-18 Places spiritual needs beofer physical needs, she has little hope of physical comfort among Israel (cf. v. 11-13) yet remains faithful 2:2 Humble, willing to submit to labor associated with povertry and servitude 2:14, 18 Selfless, even in her own hunger she rememebers her mother-in-law 2:20, 3:10 Seeks to fulfil the levir's duty and raise up a son to her deceased husband rather than persuing a young man for a husband The Man ------- 2:8-9 Generous 2:11-12 Religious and spiritual, disregards race because of her faithfulness 2:14-16 Protective 3:11-13 Observes the spirit of the Law over the letter of the Law 3:11, 14 Concerned about her reputation, discreet 4:8 Redeemer Thus, we see that Ruth and Boaz are two spiritual people who end up together as a result of the Lord's Providence. If we want to be "Happily Ever After", then we need to be like Ruth and Boaz. Following this same line, but at a more abstract level, Ruth and Boaz would represent the relationship between the Lord and Israel and Christ and the Church. For related doctrinal issues to subjects treated in this book see Numbers 27:1-11 and Number 36 for female land ownership, Leviticus 25:23-34 on the redemption of land, and Deuteronomy 25:5-10 for the levir's duty. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.