The book of Ruth is the greatest book in the Bible to show GOD'S Love. Some scholars say the Song of Solomon is the book that best shows the Love of GOD, but I believe the book of Ruth is.

Do you know what is ironic? It is the only book in the Bible where the word love never appears. It is similar to the book of Esther, the classic book on the sovereignty of GOD, in which the word GOD never appears.

GOD'S love is the greatest, and yet the word love never appears. Obviously, that was intentional to show:

To GOD, love is not just words:

And whenever GOD loves somebody, He does something:

GOD does not separate Love and Redemption. He does not have warm, nostalgic feelings — when GOD loves somebody, He does something! And since words to GOD are not very important, you can know:

The importance of the book of Ruth is that redemption and love are combined in it better than any other book in the Bible.

Since redemption is the theme of every book in the Bible, there are many technical details we can learn about redemption throughout the Bible. In fact, there are many biblical passages that talk about redemption, particularly those concerning the sacrificial system in the Tabernacle, and in the epistles (twenty-one written messages in the New Testament).

Undoubtedly, Exodus is the best book in the Bible about redemption, and the New Testament presents the different theological vantages of redemption.

In Ruth, however, there are not the technical details of redemption. Instead, the book focuses on:

Interestingly enough, we do not think of the book of Ruth as being very important. We tend to think of it as a nice, little book. However, to the Jews, it has always been extremely important, particularly during Shavuot/Pentecost.

Traditional observances of this [early harvest] feast include reading and studying portions of the Torah (Mosaic Law). The Scripture readings are Exodus 19 and 20 (Giving of the Law) and Ezekiel 1 (Ezekiel's vision of GOD'S glory). Additionally, since the time the book of Ruth was written:

You would think that of all the books for the Jews to read during this feast, the book of Ruth would not be the one. What is fascinating is that most Jews miss the significance of what they [themselves] are doing.

This holy day commemorates the anniversary of GOD giving Moses the Law to deliver the people. Rabbinical Judaism includes celebrating GOD giving the complete Torah (oral and written Laws) to Moses on Mount Sinai.

The Law concerning Shavuot (Hebrew, meaning "weeks")/Pentecost (Greek, meaning "fiftieth") is presented in the book of Leviticus:

Two loaves of bread were offered to GOD in the Temple, showing GOD'S provision for His people. In addition, sacrifices were made for the worshipper's atonement, along with burnt, grain, drink, sin and peace offerings.

The early harvest feast was fulfilled when Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (see Acts 2):

This was a transition between two dispensations:

1. The end of the Age of Law.
2. The beginning of the Age of Grace.

The case has always been that Grace triumphs over Law.

For 1,400 years, GOD wanted His people to use Grace to triumph over the Law, and for about 1,400 years they never caught on. Therefore:

That is why the Jews unwittingly read the book of Ruth at Pentecost, because it is:

Why?

The Law condemned Ruth, because she was a Moabitess:

Accordingly, no [Ammonite or] Moabite could even be a part of the congregation of Israel. The Israelites could not marry a Moabite. In fact, even if a Moabite tried to come into the congregation, that individual was not to be assimilated in.

However, Ruth came in because of Grace, because somebody (Boaz) loved her.

Boaz did not love Ruth by saying I love you [and spelling it L-U-V -sic!]; Boaz loved Ruth, but he did something:

Boaz and Ruth were living in the time of Law; so what about the Law?

This is similar to all the Laws and rules associated with the Tabernacle.

For example, nobody could go into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle unless he was the high priest, and the high priest could enter only once a year. However, an individual could enter the Holy of Holies on the basis of Grace, because Grace triumphs over Law! It has always been that way.

Boaz provided grace, and Ruth received that grace by faith.

Application: Is that not the way of everything that GOD has for His creation, human beings? It was not just our redemption (salvation). Everything He wants His human beings to have, He offers on the basis of grace, and then we receive it by faith.

Picture: Joseph and Boaz are equally the best picture of Messiah Jesus in the Bible. Joseph is a classic picture of the suffering servant who is exalted. But if we just have Joseph, then we would not see the love aspect. However, when we talk about Messiah Jesus, in the aspect of the One who Love Us and Redeemed Us, then that was Boaz.

There is always a relationship between Loving and Redeeming. There is not anybody that GOD loves that He does not redeem:

If we did not have the book of Ruth, we would think that redemption was technical. It would be cold and there would not be a personal element to redemption. We might think that redemption was limited to GOD defeating Satan or GOD having victory over death.

However, with the book of Ruth, we know the reason GOD redeemed us was because there was a personal relationship that He had for us through Messiah Jesus, the SON OF GOD.

We have heard the analogy that the redeemed were purchased out of the slave market. Paul tells us:

Even though it was impossible, GOD found a way to redeem those that He loves. And that is good to understand; however, the primary part of GOD'S redemption is:

That is what we are going to see in the book of Ruth: The Kind of Love that Redeems Us.

Back To: Ruth Series Page

We express our deepest appreciation to Mitchell and Dawn Kolodin for their excellent work in transcribing and editing this entire Ruth study.

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