Culture History and the Future

Culture, History, and Future in The Book of Ruth
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Culture, History and the Future in the Book of Ruth
The book of Ruth tells the story of Naomi, the widow of Elimelech and Ruth, her daughter in law. After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi set forth to return to Bethlehem. Ruth, one of her daughters in law, pledged loyalty and insisted on traveling back with her while the others remained in Moab. Ruth was genetically associated with the people of Israel through Lot who was a nephew of Abraham. This genealogical linkage to Abraham reminds us of the promises God had made to him including to bless his generation (Genesis 17). Thus Ruth, despite her tribulations and tragedies of the deaths of her husband in the foreign land, was destined to an abundance of blessings. In the land of Bethlehem, Ruth had gone out to gather Barley after reapers and met Boaz, a kinsman of her husband who happened to be the owner of the farm.
This encounter endeared them to each other being that they were both of noble characters. Ruth, through the advice of Naomi, requested Boaz to take her in as a wife and offer her lineage redemption on account that he was a near kinsman (Ruth 3: 7 – 10). Boaz accepted but later realized that there existed another Kinsman of Ruth would be considered eligible to take her in as a wife. However, when approached this other kinsman refused to marry her on account that she was Moabite and that he already had an inheritance if his own.

Thus, she was married to Boaz. Their marriage thus redeemed Naomi’s family as per their traditions whereby, upon the death of a husband, a woman was to get married to a Kin of her husband to ensure the continuity of that generation (Ruth 2: 20 – 22). This Kinship and redemptive associations was a culture and tradition consistent in the books of the old testament.
Their marriage resulted in the birth of a son whom they named Obed. Obed later begot a son and named him Jesse who was the father of King David, whose lineage Jesus Christ the Messiah in the new testament came from (Ruth 4:17). The story of Ruth, therefore, is a story that begun in the old testament and extended to the new testament. It is a story that teaches Christians how the grand future plans of God outweigh human understanding. After the tragedies that Ruth and Naomi had persevered, God was able to redeem them and restore their happiness as he had promised. This story of the redemption of his people is consistent with what God did in the new testament where through Jesus Christ he was able to offer salvation to his children. This is a story of God restoring and redeeming foreordained through the weaving together of history and future destinies. (Romans 8:28)
References
Genesis 17 – Contemporary English Version. (2018). Bible Gateway passage. Retrieved 1 August 2018, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+17&version=CEV
Romans 8:28 (2018). Biblehub.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018, from https://biblehub.com/romans/8-28.htm
Ruth. (2018). The Bible Project. YouTube. Read Scripture: Retrieved 1 August 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h1eoBeR4JkThe Book of Ruth. (2018). Biblescripture.net. Retrieved 1 August 2018, from http://biblescripture.net/Ruth.html