Hi James and Ellen,
Ruth is an abridged story of a great-grandma. Ruth was a Moabite people group gal. The Moabite people group guys, gals and kids – 3,200 years ago, lived on the east side of the Dead Sea. The Moabite people group’s land area today would be part of the country of Jordan. The Ruth Book was scribed somewhere around 1000 B.C. Samuel – an aging Israelite people group prophet, possibly was who scribed Ruth’s story. Samuel would have personally known a grandson of Ruth along with the grandson’s kids. During Ruth’s lifetime, the Israelite people group guys, gals and kids had guys and a gal – who were called judges, doing what they could to keep them safe where they lived in the land of Canaan – which was the land that God gave them to always have to live in as their very own land, from their neighboring evading people groups guys. God’s omniscient schematic for Ruth’s unique role in the history of His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals, began unfolding in the Ruth Book when He had a famine create a dire food shortage for an Ephrathite family who lived in or near the town of Bethlehem. Ephrathah was the name of a small village that was situated next to the town of Bethlehem. When the devastating impact of the famine brought about a feeling of desperation, the Ephrathite dad – whose name was Elimelech, had God prompt him to relocate his family in Moab’s land area. After getting his wife – whose name was Naomi, and his two kids – whose names were Mahlon and Kilion, settled in Moab’s land area, Elimelech died. Mahlon and Kilion both married Moabite people group gals. The Moabite people group gals names were Ruth and Orpah. Ten years or so after Naomi’s two sons married Moabite people group gals, Mahlon and Kilion died. It may have been shortly after her two sons died that Naomi got word – possibly from one of her kin, that the catastrophic famine – that had wreaked havoc in the area of her hometown, had broken. Naomi decided to return to the town of Bethlehem. Naomi gave her two daughter-in-law’s the option of either joining her to live with her in the town of Bethlehem or remain in Moab’s land area with their Moabite people group families. Orpah opted to stay with her Moabite family while Ruth opted to go with her mother-in-law.
Even though Naomi had a faithful, caring companion in her daughter-in-law, she became bitter towards God about the uncontrollable misfortunes that she blamed God for having brought against her. Naomi felt alienated from God. Once back in the town of Bethlehem, Naomi – because she was a widow without any means to support herself, resorted to asking Ruth to glean barley for them to have enough food to survive. An ongoing practice among the Israelite people group farmers was to never glean totally a barley or wheat field so that the widows who lived in the community could glean what was still standing so that they would have some good for their larders. Since there was a prosperous relative on her deceased husband’s side who was harvesting his barley fields that were located near the town of Bethlehem, Naomi told Ruth to glean barley from one of this guy’s fields. The guy’s name was Boaz. When Boaz saw Ruth, he immediately took a personal interest in Ruth and began to show her kindness. After Ruth told her mother-in-law what Boaz had done and because Naomi had grown up being indoctrinated in what the Levitical or Mosaic Law says about a guy having to marry the wife of a bro who had died – so that the gal would have a kid – if she did not already have a kid, who could take care of her, Naomi was able to move a plan along where Boaz ended up being obligated to having to marry Ruth – even though Ruth was not from any Israelite people group clan, which Boaz very happily did. And because Boaz – as a family member, had the legal right to buy it back, Naomi was able to get back the land which once had been her husband’s land before she and Elimelech left for Moab’s land area. Ruth Book’s four chapters end in a feel-good narrative that applauds family loyalty. God’s providence stands out in the Ruth Book. Unforeseeable circumstances that were orchestrated by God had someone – who was Ruth, – who was totally out of the loop of God’s specially chosen guys and gals, becoming the wife of someone – who was Boaz, who was in the loop of God’s specially chosen guys and gals. Boaz and Ruth had at least one kid – who they named Obed. Obed and his wife had at least one kid – who they named Jesse. Jesse and his wife had a bunch of kids. Jesse and his wife named their youngest kid David. Ruth was David’s great-grandma. David was anointed by Samuel to be the second position king to rule over the Israelite people group guys and gals. The lineage of God’s Son – Who was Jesus Christ, can be traced back through David – and back through Ruth.
The Ruth Book storyline to your grandpaa is not just an account about a gal who God used to bring hope to all generations; the Ruth Book story reminds your grandpaa how God has used and is using your grandmaa for His sake on planet Earth. Your grandmaa marrying your grandpaa happened through God’s divine intervention insuring that it would happen. It was tacitly assumed that your grandpaa – who is one hundred percent Dutch, would marry a gal who has Dutch heritage. Your grandmaa’s heritage is Scotch/Irish. Your grandpaa grew up on a farm while your grandmaa grew up in a city that is 1,200 miles away. Questioning God’s sovereignty is a very foolhardy thing to do.
Ruth