And yet the life of a foreign widow who has nothing becomes so important that it’s included in the Bible and her name recognized in the lineage of Jesus.Īs you read through the book of Ruth, you won’t find any places where God’s voice thunders down to her as you might in other Bible stories. Nothing is going in her favor, but she’s brave, and her faith never wavers. Ruth is just a widow – one from an enemy nation, at that. She doesn’t have great riches or great position. Perhaps that’s what makes it so compelling. It’s there that she meets Boaz, who also turns out to be her “redeemer.” After Boaz secures his place as her redeemer, the two are married and are later blessed with a son named Obed – the grandfather of King David. They have nothing, so Ruth goes to work in the grain fields so they have enough food to eat. So, Ruth and Naomi both return to Bethlehem.

Ruth refuses with a passionate speech to Naomi:Įntreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” (Ruth 1: 16,17 KJV) In fact, Naomi encourages both girls to go back to their parents and find husbands who can take care of them. The world is not kind to widows today, and being a widow was even more difficult back then. Elimelech passes away, and about 10 years later, both of Naomi’s sons die, as well. Their sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. A famine in Canaan forces Elimelech and Naomi, along with their sons, to migrate from Bethlehem to Moab. A simple Moabite widow becomes an essential character in the powerful story of salvation woven through the Bible.Īs a widow myself, I’m drawn to the story of Ruth again and again. The book of Ruth is a beautiful piece of sacred literature, applauded by many for its literary excellence. And this was in a time when women weren’t ordinarily included in genealogies. Ruth is also one of the few women who are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus found in the book of Matthew. There are only two books of the Bible named after women: Esther and Ruth.

Bible study on ruth