The Book of Ruth
A plot summary of the four chapters
The Book of Ruth is short. Only 85 verses. It is best to read it in the Bible. However, here is a plot summary to accompany the series in Medium and The Ordinary Ways of God book by David Roseberry
Chapter One: The Land of Empty
A famine came to the Land of Judah in the dark days of the Judges. One family left the city of Bethlehem and traveled over fifty miles east to ‘no man’s land,’ where the Moabites lived — the Israelites’ hated and sworn enemy. The names of the family members were Elimelech, and his wife, Naomi; they had two sons named Chilion and Mahlon. Shortly after they arrived in Moab, Elimelech died. The two young men married two women from Moab, Orpah, and Ruth. After ten childless years, both husbands died. The only members left in the family were three women; three widows without hope.
Naomi then heard that the famine had lifted from her home and that there was food in Judah. She decided to go back. She strongly encouraged her daughters-in-law to remain in Moab. She had no hope for their future, much less hers. After some reluctance, Orpah stayed in Moab. Ruth, however, made a lifelong pledge to Naomi to remain with her mother-in-law. So, Naomi and Ruth traveled to Bethlehem and arrived at the start of the spring harvest.
Chapter Two: The Land of Plenty
Soon after they arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth went to glean from the crops behind the harvest workers. There, she drew the attention of Boaz, a man of some stature and owner of the fields. He asked the foreman about the young woman, and he learned of her and the pledge she had made to Naomi. Boaz was impressed that this young woman would care for her mother-in-law. Boaz made special provisions for the young Ruth to be safe, well-fed and protected while working.
Naomi remembered that Boaz was her late husband’s relative and could fulfill the role and duty of a kinsman-redeemer to secure their future and provide a future son for the family legacy. Both women were thinking about future marriage. Naomi saw the possibility for Ruth’s security; Ruth considered the possibility for Naomi’s fulfillment.
Naomi tells Ruth to continue to work in Boaz’s fields. She continues to glean there until the end of the barley and wheat harvest.
Chapter Three: Wings for Ruth
Naomi learned that Boaz would be working late one night on the threshing floor. She told Ruth to prepare and then presented herself to Boaz. On that night, after some harvest celebrations, Boaz laid on his bed asleep. Ruth came in quietly to present herself. At midnight, she laid down at the foot of his bed and uncovered his feet. This was a highly symbolic gesture for a woman to make; she asked him to spread a covering over her. In this way, she was proposing marriage.
Boaz was delighted and immediately agreed. Some legal issues had to be addressed the next day at the city gate, where all such transactions were decided.
Chapter Four: Birth and Promise
Boaz redeemed the land when the legal affairs were settled, and, since the widow (Ruth) came with the land, he married her. The Lord gave her conception, and she called the new son Obed. He was the male heir who needed to carry the land forward with the family, and he was the son Ruth, and Boaz wanted.
In time, Obed became the father of Jesse and grandfather of David, who became the King of Israel and whose descendant, fourteen generations later, was Jesus Christ. Twelve hundred years later, when the Gospel of Matthew was written, the last verses in Ruth were copied into the genealogy of Jesus. Ruth from Moab and Boaz from Judah were listed in the Jesus lineage of the Son of God.
