Bible Commentaries

The Book of Ruth stands in striking contrast to the Book of Judges and yet is closely connected with it. In Judges the national outlook has been presented and so dark has it been as to create the impression of universal pollution. The story of Ruth illustrates the truth that God has never left Himself without witness.

During a time of famine, Elimelech, his wife, and two sons went into the country of Moab to find bread and to escape trouble. It is questionable whether their action was justified. Their sons married Moabite women. It is evident, however, that their action was rather blundering than willful rebellion. There they maintained their faith in the one God. When, bereft of her husband and two sons, Naomi turned her face again to her own country, she urged her daughters in-law to leave her and settle among their own people. This was the occasion of that choice of Ruth which in its devotion and in the manner in which she expressed it has become universally accepted as an illustration of fidelity of love. The story, however, reveals that love for Naomi was not the deepest note in her decision. That was struck when she used the expression, ". . . Thy God [shall be] my God."

The language of Naomi at the home-coming shows that she looked upon the sorrows that had come to her as God’s testimony against her and His affection of her. There was, however, no touch of rebellion in what she said but rather a gracious recognition of chastisement, showing that she had learned the lessons it was intended to teach.