The Book of Ruth is considered to be the biblical book named specially for women. It is the reflection of the love story between Boaz and Ruth showing God’s grace. This book was created in difficult times of violence, disobedience, and idolatry, in times of despair and crisis. The Book of Ruth discloses the life of people who followed God and did everything that was right in his eyes. The period of Judges covering Israel’s conquest is deeply reflected in the book highlighting all the peculiarities of that time and the way people were devoted to God.
Though the author of the story is unknown, the Book of Ruth has its roots in history and plays a significant role in the Holy Bible. The Biblical names of characters give an opportunity to dive into the depth of the book sense and its color. They are very symbolic and reflect the basic notions of the Bible and its meaning in the modern world. For example, Naomi reflects the meaning of Christ’s cross and shows God’s wisdom.
The Book of Ruth is a combination of the Bible traditions rooted in the Judaism epoch and which are popular nowadays. The believers’ tradition of three times before being accepted into the church is closely described in the text. One more mystical tradition disclosing clinging to God’s spirit and being popular in the Western churches shows its relation to the Holy Bible.
It is important to stress that its relation to the Bible is based on the illustration of human choice in life, which is as well presented in the Book of Ruth:
- To depend on the society you live in;
- To rely on your work for redemption;
- To believe, depend and wait on God.
The theme of sexual relations between the main characters of the book is the demonstration of strong spiritual unity between the Church and Christ which is so mystical that cannot be expressed with words.
The Book of Ruth is considered to be an integral part of the Holy Bible. It performs the place of God in our life disclosing the most important holy traditions that should be followed by the believers at present times. The spiritual meaning of God’s word is completely reflected in the features and behavior of the book characters. It is an individual separate holy book, not the part of the Judge’s book, as it was considered to be earlier. It is a “Women Bible” reflecting all changes brought by God to our usual life. The grace of God presented in the book provides the reader with evidence of His majestic power and the level it influences people’s view on life and the general sense of it.
The embodiment of Ruth as a holy woman is considered to be a bright example of a biblical symbol changing the lives of many believers. The Book of Ruth is proved to play a significant role for the Holy Bible and reflect all spiritual symbols and holy traditions in the description of its characters. This book can influence every reader and show how God can change our life in case we follow His word and His thoughts. The Book of Ruth disclosed all the roots of Bible ancient traditions and showed that every person has a right to choose how to live and what principles of life to follow. This book reflects all the main positions of the Bible followed by people on the example of a woman with her blessings and blame whose only sense of life is God and His holy Word.
References
The Holy Bible: King James Version. 1611 Edition, Hendrickson Publishers, 2003.