The Gospel in Ruth

God cares for his own with great loving kindness. Ruth is the story of a young Moabite widow who comes to know the covenant love the one true God and the joy of belonging to his people through her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. Through these two women God's sovereign hand is at work to redeem a people for himself. God, the hero of the story, is the faithful God who cares for his own and provides what they need with great loving kindness (hesed). Like Ruth, we too "were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12). Like Ruth, we too need a Kinsman-Redeemer who will do all that is necessary to remedy our helpless condition.

The language of redemption permeates the story of Ruth. Words built on the root "redeem" (ga-al) appear 23 times. The key to understanding the narrative is the concept of kinsman-redeemer, the closest living male relative who had the duty to preserve the family name and land. He could buy back the land of a poor relative or a relative who had sold himself into slavery to pay debts (Lev 25:25, 47-49), or marry the widow of a deceased relative (Dt 25:5-10). In Ruth's case, the kinsman-redeemer Boaz elects to carry out the duties of both, buying her estate and taking her as his bride.