Christians please--I have a serious question for you. The Book of Ruth...?

Question

Why is Ruth in the Bible? So, I make no secret of the fact that I'm atheist but I was reading the bible again during church on Easter (yeah like you've never done anything just to please your grandparents) and decided to reread Ruth.

So basically, this girl Ruth decides to stay with her mother-in-law. We don't know anything about her past so no way to know why she really didn't want to go home but the point is she stays (like most of us) with the person she knows. They need food so she goes to the fields to get some food. The rich old man thinks she is hot and wants to get with her so he tells the people to give her all the food she wants. Her mother-in-law tells her that the guy clearly likes her so she should sneak in a lie next to him while he is sleeping. Dude wakes up, gives her more food b/c she is hot and he wants her. As custom, he goes to her next-of-kin and says he wants to marry her. He marries the hot chick. The end.

How is that spiritually enlightening?

I mean of all the books they edited out, what is great about that one? Please correct me if you feel I've misinterpreted something but the guy finds a girl hot and wants her. How was that life changing? Different than normal? Important enough to be biblical?

I like you answer tx except he didn't know who she was. He saw her in his fields and went around asking his servants who she was. As far as thinking she was hot, it does mention she laid down beside him one night and the next day he proposed. Thats gotta be heidi klum type of hot.

Please--anyone out there I'm not trying to mock you. I just want to know if anyone has any idea why that was included when other books were left out. What is it that is seen as "divine" in that chapter?

Answer 1

Books were included in the Bible not just due to a seemingly "divine" nature or because they were spiritually enlightening.

They also took in consideration the historical reliability of the text as well as the popularity of the text. The book of Ruth was very popular and viewed as historically accurate.

You raise a very important question and a popular question. Students of the Bible have often questioned why the book of Ruth was included.


First of all the importance of this book and the relation back to David is VERY important.

Boaz marries Naomi and they have a child named Obed, who is the grandfather of David. Ruth 4 gives a brief genealogy. This genealogy shows 10 generations. 10 is a a "complete" number in Hebrew literature. The Genealogy is being used to make a theological point.

Also this type of genealogy and the use of generations is used to make theological points elsewhere. For example Matthew 1....14 generations Abe-Dave. then 14 Dave - Exile, 14 Exile-Jesus. The Hebrew numeric value of the name of David is.....14!

Also part of understanding the theology of the book of Ruth is to see the Narrative Trajectory. Especially pertaining to Naomi's life situations.

In the begginning she is called Naomi which means "Full". She has a husband named Elimelech (which means "my God is King") a sun named Mahlon (means "sickly") and another named Kilion (means "finished"). Then when arriving back in Bethlehem she told them don't call me "Naomi" but call me Mara. Mara means "bitter". Her life had emptied. Then in the end the women there call her Naomi again. (4:17) Because she is once again "pleasant or full" because she is now married and with child.

The underlying of the story is that God saw her through this. (4:14). Naomi rediscovered faith, hope, and life and got to see God's hand in mundane everday events.

Another spiritual lesson is about human faithfulness and God's covenant loyalty. The story occurs duing the period of the Judges. (1:1). This period in history is well known as a time of unfaithfulness of Israel towards God. Israel seemed to be rejecting God during this period. So how did the faith remain? It remained through people who were faithful despite the circumstances. Naomi makes a claim to Ruth's faith and also to be faithful to Ruth herself.

God also was remebering his covenant and redeemed the land back into the family that would soon one day bring about the King David, the ancestor of Jesus.

Two Major Themes:

1. Kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew "goel") This law is expounded in Deut. 25:5-10 and Lev. 25:25-31, 47-55.

And now I quote, "Both the land law and the levirate marriage were intended to perserve family and land- covenant matters of the first degree. They were social provisions by which God's covenant promises could continue to be realized even for families in crisis. The "goel" provided the means by which jeopardized covenant blessings could be regained and thus served as an appropiate metaphor for God's grace. Yahweh constantly acted as "goel" for Israel, and the New Testament was quick to apply that concept to the role of Christ."^1

2. Loving-Kindness (Hebrew "hesed")
Ruth to Naomi (1:16-17)
Boaz recongizes this character (2:12)
Boaz to Naomi (2:20)
"Hesed" is the issue at negotiation. (3:9-13)
The Lord's "hesed" introduced. (1:8-9)
Praise for the Lord's "hesed" and provision. (4:14)

"Ruth is a book of "hesed" on both the human and divine levels....All this demonstrates that "hesed" to one another is among the most fitting vehicles God can use to display his own "hesed." This again provides a contrast to the book of Judges, in which loyaltly within the bounds of the covenant is scarce."^1

Answer 2

That's a good question. I'm glad that you read the Bible and went to church on Easter Sunday. BTW, I have done many things just to please my grandparents, lol.

I believe there are several reasons this book is included in the Bible:

1) It is "God-breathed"; written by man through the inspiration of God. Any text that is not God-breathed were not included in the Bible.
2) It shows how God worked in the lives of those involved. The Bible states nothing about her being "hot". Boaz, the man who owned the fields she went to, knew who she was and knew of her situation back home, so he was generous to her.
3) They did end up getting married, and her son was the grandfather of David, who is highly regarded in the Bible.

Answer 3

I know you're just making fun, but I will answer your question seriously anyway. Of course a person would not be held accountable. Anything done completely by accident will be forgiven. Intentions are everything.

Answer 4

You take it very literally, I believe that much of the story is symbolic. This girl stays with her grandmother and therefore puts herself in danger and God then helps her to marry a rich man and see that she and her granmother are safe. I think it's about sticking through God and trusting what he says to achieve happiness in the end.

Answer 5

Ruth is a book about covenant. She made a covenant with her mother-in-law Naomi that she was gonna stick by her side period. Naomi had lost both of her sons (one had been Ruth's husband), and her husband so she decided to return to her home country. Ruth went but because she had not had any children when she was married there was no heir to carry on the family name. That was very important to the Hewbrews (although Ruth was not a Hewbrew she had married into a Hewbrew family and was considered Hewbrew by marriage. Naomi gave her the option of continueing on or going back to her own people but Ruth decided she wanted to continue on) - the continuation of the line because someday the Christ or Messiah was gonna come forth. But because Ruth had no children nor family of her own she was considered wanting or lacking. Nothing to look forward to. They considered raising and passing on the covenant to the next generation a GREAT privilage and honor. Walking in covenant with the Living God is a great honor!
The main point of the book of Ruth is the idea of "Kinsman-Redeemer" which is what Boaz became to Ruth. Boaz was the 2nd closest living male relative to Ruth's dead husband and so because the closest living male relative wasn't interested in "redeeming" Ruth, Boaz got to. What that means is that Boaz would marry Ruth or enter into a covenant (marriage) with her and he would love her and look after her as her new husband. He would give to her his "seed" so that she could have children & carry on the family line. Her former husband hadn't gotten the job done.
The book of Ruth is an allegory of what Christ did for those who put their faith in Him. He is our "Kinsman-Redeemer" in that He redeemed us from our spiritual barreness and falleness by dying for our sins & its effects on the cross. (We all walked away from God spiritually, by sinning against God, starting with Adam and Eve in the garden therefore we spiritually died. God is life to forsake Him means death. Remember God warned Adam about the fruit - "In the day you eat it you will die." He meant spiritually die followed later on by a physical death).
Christ gave us Himself to be a spiritual covering like Boaz was to Ruth; and when we put our faith in Him, He puts His spiritual seed within our spirits, thus we become 'born again' or spiritually alive in our spirits, able to know God personally and intimatly - Spirit to spirit. True Christianity is not a keeping or trying to keep a bunch of religious rules to make God happy and avoid hell. It's being made alive inwardly so you can have a living fellowship with the Living God who is Spirit. Eternal life is not merely a destination, its a state of being.

Ruth laying with Boaz was their symbolic way of asking someone "to cover" them or become their kinsman- redeemer. It had nothing to do with sex or physical attractiveness. I hope this helps! God Bless You!

Answer 6

the moral lesson is hot young girls should marry rich old men. Duh.