Jeff D. Miller
BIBA 125
11/11/13
Ruth Paper
Ruth:
The Story of Unconditional Love

“Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. You’re people will be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die. And there will I be buried. May the Lord deal with me, however so severely, if anything but death separates you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17). Throughout the book of Ruth the reader will find the main themes to be unconditional love, dedication, and loyalty.
Ruth was a Moabite. The Moabites where cursed by the Lord because of their beginnings, (the story of Lot and his daughters after the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah) and also because of their pagan beliefs. The people that were from Bethlehem were Hebrews, and worshipped the God of Israel. To the people of Bethlehem, Ruth was a pagan outsider that had no relations apart from her mother-in-law, and definitely no man to speak for her. She was hard-pressed to find food for Naomi and herself. She went out to the fields to collect wheat, and found a field that belonged to a man named Boaz. She was scared of the men in the field, so she would work hard and only would stop to rest once or twice. Boaz noticed her, and asked after her. That night she took the wheat home that Boaz gave her, and told Naomi of what had happened.
Naomi told Ruth that Boaz was their kinsman, it held great meaning for them both. As time went by, Naomi told Ruth that she would do her best to find a new husband and house for Ruth. She then gave Ruth some very unusual instructions: “Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do” (Ruth 3:3-4). If Ruth thought her mother-in-law was a little crazy, she didn’t let on. She simply replied “I will do whatever you say,” and she did everything she was told.
That night everything was peaceful. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, Boaz woke up. He must have thought that a man was sneaking in to steal some of his barely. Surprisingly, he found a woman lying at his feet. He asked her name and she replied, “I am your servant Ruth. Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer” (Ruth 3:9). Boaz quickly covered her, and promised to do whatever she asks. He informed her that there was another man closer to them than he was, who could also redeem them. The next day he went to see the man in front of ten elders, and presented it to him. However, this man wouldn’t redeem Ruth, perhaps because of his lack of self-confidence about possible inheritance to a Moabite woman, so the job was handed to Boaz. He said that he was their redeemer before the witnesses, who blessed him and his future. So he and Ruth married, and in course she gave birth to a son named Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who was a descendent of Jesus Christ.
“Where you go, I will go...” With these words, Ruth sealed her fate, and the rest of civilizations. By following her mother-in-law, she met and married her husband, gave birth to a son, and thereby made it possible for the upcoming of our Savoir, Jesus Christ. Her story is a classic example of unconditional love, dedicated faith, and steadfast loyalty.