The worship of God through personal devotion

Judaism is at times mistakenly regarded as a religion based on the strict observance of a set of laws, to be kept in letter rather than spirit. Some interpreted this as meaning that providing that the laws, for example in relation to sacrifices, were carried out as specified, then God was worshipped and his will was accomplished. However, the laws were never meant to be an end in themselves; they were designed to encourage spiritual development, not to exclude it or take its place.

The prophets, in particular, struggle to get Israel to understand the importance of motive and sincerity in obeying God's laws. That, alone, is what God is after. Integrity of motive will fulfil his will and produce true worship of God. In this narrative, Ruth's personal devotion to God is accepted and rewarded. Ruth's attitude to God and actions to others fulfil God's will even though she, as a Moabite, wouldn't be expected to observe Israel's Law personally. But God accepted her true worship - the offering of herself to others and her intention to worship him rather than return to Moab and its gods. In those days, it was believed God rewarded those who pleased him with health, material prosperity and children. Ruth's transformed life was a sign of God's acceptance of her and his blessing.

God's purposes

Throughout the Bible, God is an active God who delivers and provides for his creation, in co-operation with people, using their lives and natural events. The world is seen as working towards a goal: God's planned finale.

God is rarely mentioned in this story but his presence and purposes are evident e.g. Ruth 1:21 and 2:3. What happens is not the result of chance but the working out of God's purposes for Israel, in the interaction of the lives of these characters through their rescue and support. Israel is expected to learn from this story more clearly what her mission is, what her role is in God's plan for the whole world. She has a mission to embrace, not exclude the foreigner, who through Israel, will come to know the true God.

The concept of 'Messiah'

The idea of God sending his Messiah to restore Israel to her rightful place in the world is hinted at here in the genealogy which links David to Ruth. The belief was to develop that the Messiah would come from the line of David and also be born in Bethlehem.

God as Provider

For Israel, God is the creator and provider of all. In Israelite Law, God's concern for the vulnerable and needy is evident. In this parable, through the image of the harvest, material needs are met. But God also provides for the emotional and spiritual needs of the characters. The women are particularly needy and vulnerable, having lost their sources of livelihood through the deaths of all the male members of the family. But through their loyalty and devotion they are rewarded by God and their needs met through marriage and a son. Ruth's life is transformed and her status in society restored: she goes from widow to wife, hunger to being fed, vulnerability to security, no future to a bright future, barrenness to fertility.

There was no developed belief in an afterlife at this time, so it was believed that God's blessings and rewards would be received in this life. Material prosperity, health and children were signs of God's favour.

Redemption - Restoration

Religion is to do with humankind's relationship with God. When the relationship has broken down, according to the Bible, God takes the initiative and offers restoration. There is no compulsion but an open offer, which can be taken up or not. In the Book of Ruth, God's willingness to redeem and restore humankind is mirrored in Boaz 'redeeming' Ruth and Ruth's co-operative response. Through her redemption, her life is restored. The birth of her son confirms that God accepts and blesses her, as well as Naomi.

The cause of suffering and rewards

Religion faces the question of why a God (especially a loving God) allows suffering and why some people prosper and others suffer. This dilemma is evident here in Ruth 1:20 where Naomi puts the blame on God for the hard time she has had. We see here that even the faithful are afflicted and yet in the end Ruth's loyalty is rewarded and God blesses her with prosperity.

In the Hebrew Bible, it was believed that God withheld blessings from people who had sinned, resulting in illness, calamity and death. God was therefore seen as causing or allowing suffering in response to the behaviour of people. Likewise material prosperity, good health and children resulted from God's being pleased with the person. And yet people were questioning this belief, as the book of Job shows, because it was obvious that in real life it was not as simple as that - the good did suffer and the bad prospered! It was not until after the life and death of Jesus that the belief in a God who suffered alongside humanity was shaped. 'Innocent suffering' is still a major problem for people today.

Racial issues

During the exile, the Israelites came to the conclusion that God was punishing them for their disloyalty. They spent the time in exile reflecting on their history, identity and relationship with God. They concluded that only by keeping their laws very strictly could they purify themselves and remain holy. So they became very inward looking. It was then that marriages with foreigners were broken and foreigners were forced to leave. In spite of believing God was the creator of everyone and having come to realise that their God was the God of everyone (Deutero-Isaiah the prophet, had preached this - see Isaiah 44:5; 45:14,33; 55:5) they were now cutting themselves off from others.

However, the Bible sees God's plan as that of selecting Israel, not for favoured treatment but for added responsibility. Israel was to set an example of holiness to the world in order that the rest of the world might become holy too, and live in God's way. Israel's Law in fact declared that the stranger should be welcomed and cared for e.g. Exodus 22:2; Leviticus 19:33; Deuteronomy 24:17-18; 27:19.

If this book was written to oppose the strict policies of Ezra, then the acceptance of the foreigner Ruth by God should challenge the belief that God wished Israel to be cut off and cleansed from foreign contamination. After the exile, holiness was misunderstood as avoiding contamination from non- Israelites whereas for God, holiness could only come through getting 'contaminated' by the needs and problems of others.

Position of women

Religion is always bound up with and influenced by culture and it is important to try to distinguish between the two. Israel was a patriarchal society and women played a minor formal role. This is naturally reflected in the Bible and is still reflected to varying degrees in different branches of Judaism and Christianity. This is really a question of culture rather than the spirit of the faith teaching; in the Bible the apparently small role of women is very significant. Certain women are crucial to God's purposes being fulfilled, for instance Sarah, Moses' mother, and Mary.

Here, Ruth is responsible ultimately for the birth of the greatest king ever, David, from whose line the Messiah would come. The women in this story take an active part in working with God. They take risks to remedy their situations, e.g. Ruth in going back to Israel and Naomi in setting up Boaz. They show a trust and faith to which God responds. Not only was Ruth a foreigner, she was also a woman and a childless widow. All these led to low status in the society of the time. With little going for her, she allows God to transform her situation and thus becomes valuable: a way for his purposes to be carried out.