The book begins with the words, “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled….” A friend of mine wrote that the book of Ruth is like a quiet bubbling stream between the book of Judges and the books of Samuel. On either side is war, jealousy, envy, murder, deceit, immorality and pride, but the stream that is the life of Ruth is so refreshing between them.
The story begins in Bethlehem, Judah. This reminds me of another life which humanly speaking, began there – Jesus, and there is certainly no fairy story about Him. In this story, again no fairy story, it was when the judges ruled, when disaster struck – a famine. A man named Elimelech, an Ephraimite, married to Naomi with two sons Mahlon and Chilion, left his home and moved to Moab. Even though it is a ‘love story’, love and devotion are everywhere in it, the word ‘love’ doesn’t occur in the book. There are a series of setbacks, but it does lead to a wonderful end.
Bethlehem is a very important place, and it was long before Jesus came but you will see that what we read at the end of this short book has a direct bearing on Jesus Himself.
One of the main messages of this book is that God is at work through the worst of times. When He seems furthest from you, He is laying foundation stones of your greater happiness if you will trust Him.
The judges had ruled for around 400 years. It was marked by highs and lows, mostly lows as there was no king and God raised up judges to deliver them. Generally, they were dark days and the phrase ‘everyone did that which was right in his own eyes’ appears four times in the book of Judges. It was an era marked by idolatry, immorality and war. God raised up judges including Gideon, Othniel and Samson.
Bethlehem means “House of bread” indicating it being rich in produce so for a famine to come was quite disastrous. God had promised there would always be plenty if they were obedient. Evidently, they were not (Deuteronomy 11:13-17).
