THE STORY OF RUTH

There was a time during the period of the Judges when the line from Abraham to Jesus seemed in danger of being broken. In the book of Ruth we read of Boaz, a direct descendent of Jacob and Judah, who was a man of good morals, wealthy and a close relative of Elimelech, Naomi's husband, but he was not married.

It is wonderful how God works things out in fulfillment of His plan. Elimelech and Naomi had two sons and since at the time of this story a famine had broken out in Israel for lack of rain, they decided to move to nearby Moab and settle there where they were able to make a living. Eventually, the two sons married two Moabite girls, Orpah and Ruth. Some time later Elimelech died, and then each of his two sons died leaving behind three widows.

Since by that time conditions had returned to normal in Israel, Naomi decided to return there, so she called her two daughters-in- law, who were living with her, and told them to return to their families since she had decided to return to Bethlehem, her hometown. Both Orpah and Ruth loved Naomi, and they refused to leave. Naomi insisted, and finally Orpah kissed her goodbye and sadly left. However, Ruth was very determined to stay with Naomi. Her beautiful answer to Naomi has echoed down through the corridors of time to this day: “Entreat me not to leave you or to return from following after you, for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God: where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death part you and me" (Ruth 1:16-18). Naomi valued such love and permitted Ruth to come and live with her in Bethlehem. At her return she told the people what had happened in Moab and the people accepted Ruth as one of their own.

It happened to be the time of the harvest, and since the law permitted gleaners to pick whatever wheat was left on the ground by the reapers, Ruth decided to go to work gleaning or picking wheat in the fields. The field she went to first belonged to Boaz who seeing her working inquired who she was. He was told she was the widow of one of his closest relatives and was living with Naomi. Boaz told the reapers to leave plenty of wheat on the ground for Ruth to pick up and take home to share with Naomi. The result of meeting Ruth was that Boaz married her, being next to the nearest relative of her late husband, who chose not to marry Ruth. This marriage produced a child, Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who became the father of David, thus, Ruth was David's great-grandmother and the line from Abraham and Judah to Jesus was kept intact.

G. Boccaccio