One can easily be fooled into thinking Ruth is an easy book to get through because it’s so short…
But that’s not the case at all.
The truth is this most Christian scholars avoid Ruth like the plague.
Why?
Because it turns out this tiny 4-chapter book has a very complex structure and theology that trips up most gentile scholars who try to impose a black-and-white Greek mindset onto the text.
On top of that, an in-depth knowledge of ancient Hebrew culture and traditions is required.
And that’s an area where a lot of gentile scholars fall short.
After literally centuries of trying to make heads and tails of this book, even the most hardcore academics have given up attempting to write a workable commentary on Ruth.
Unfortunately, everyone always wants simplistic solutions and easy answers to thorny Scriptural matters.
But the structure and theology of Ruth cannot so easily be put into a box and made to conform to manmade doctrines and traditions.
And without a firm grounding in Torah, forget it man.
You might as well be wandering through a forest blindfolded.
Having said all that, if I was to attempt to nail down one simple and common theme woven throughout this book, I would summarize it by saying this book is all about “friendship”…
In fact, that’s what Ruth means in Hebrew.
RUT or REUT means “friendship” or “to befriend”.
It’s the story of how a gentile befriends Israel and then is blessed greatly as a result…
And it’s also our story as well.
Because when we befriend Israel and choose to bless them, per the Abrahamic Covenant we too shall be greatly blessed.
See ya all next time.
Leave a Reply