Ruth’s unconditional love for Naomi was not the only form of love present in the Book of Ruth, nor was Ruth and Boaz’s relationship. The real story is present in how God orchestrated it all.
Looking back at the beginning of Ruth, we can see the desperation evident in Ruth and Naomi’s situation. After Naomi’s family left Bethlehem, her family fell apart with the deaths of her two sons and husband. Suddenly, there was no man to support the family, leaving Naomi, Ruth and Orpah to fear that God had left them. God hadn’t left them, though — he had a plan in the works all along.
First, he led Naomi back to Bethlehem and compelled Ruth to join her. There, a kinsman-redeemer was waiting: a relative of Elimelech, whose job was to redeem his relatives when they faced trouble of many sorts. This included buying back a family member sold into slavery, buying back sold land (Deuteronomy 25), and marrying a family member’s widow to have children on the dead man’s behalf and carry on his name (Ruth 3).
When Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem, God sent Ruth to Boaz’s fields, where she would meet him and experience his kindness. Once Ruth met Boaz, God arranged for Ruth and Boaz to marry according to Jewish law and gave them a son. Their son, Obed, was not only another redeemer for their family, but later became the grandfather of King David and one of Jesus’s ancestors.
Throughout Ruth’s life, we see the hand of God redeem her from a desperate situation and slowly guide her to a life of blessing. Her struggle turned into an opportunity for God to show his faithfulness on earth, and it all started with Ruth’s unconditional love for Naomi and obedience to God’s commands.
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Approved by the local outreach coordinator of the Office of Spiritual Life on June 1, 2023.