Open English Translation RUTH Introduction

Introduction

This account tells us about what happened back in the time when the ‘Judges’ were still ruling Israel, i.e., before their first king. At that time, a long drought caused a famine in Israel, which in turned cause Elimelek to move his family to the country of Moab. After a time, Elimelek died there in Moab, but eventually their two sons married, and this account focuses on Ruth who was one of those wives. When Ruth’s husband also died, she displayed amazing love and dedication towards her mother-in-law, Naomi. When good blessed Israel again with good crops. Naomi returned back to her roots in Israel and Ruth accompanied her. According to Jewish customs, Ruth needed to marry a relative of her husband, so that Elimelek’s name could continue. This was Boaz, and the son they bore became an ancestor of the future King David, and eventually through time, of Yeshua the messiah.

The Account of the Judges tells about how much the Jewish people suffered because they had turned away from God. So this account reveals how Ruth, a non-Jew, is blessed after she begins to follow Israel’s God.

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