The Book of Ruth

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Lesson 20 The Book of Ruth A Classic Story set in
the Framework of the Judges (c1000 BC) wherein a
historical event is used to prophecy the
scattering and gathering of Israel. This history
corresponds to the same time period as King Kish
of the Jaredites recorded in the Book of Ether
chapters ten and eleven. Boaz (kinsman)
Redeemer A type of Christ illustrating the
Atonement Naomi Pleasant A type of Gods
Covenant people illustrating the scattering and
gathering of Israel Ruth Mercy A type of the
Gentile Nations illustrating Gods mercy to all
mankind The Book of Ruth was read every year
between the passover and the harvest feast
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The Book of Ruth outlined in a Chaismic
format A. There was a famine in Beth-lehem.
Naomi leaves with her husband and two sons to
live in Moab. Her husband and sons die. She has
no offspring. B. Ruth married one of the
sons of Naomi C. Naomi encourged her
daughter in laws to return to their own home D.
Orpah returned to her familiy in the land of
Moab And Ruth said, Intreat me not to
leave thee,
or to return from
following after thee for whither thou goest,
I will go
and where thou lodgest, I will
lodge thy people shall be my people,

and thy God my God. Where thou diest,
will I die, (Ruth 116-17) D. Ruth went with
Naomi to Beth-lehem (where there was bread)
C. Naomi encouraged Ruth to glean in the
fields of Boaz B. Ruth married Boaz, a
kinsman of Naomi A. There was bread in
Bethlehem. Naomi returns and was restored to her
former position. She is given offspring in
behalf of her sons.
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The Fall (scattering) Ruth 11 A certain man of
Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country
of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two
sons. There was a famine in the land of Israel.
The mans name was Eli-melech, which means my
god is king. His wife was Naomi which means
pleasant. We later learn that Eli-melech and
Naomi were land owners and showed kindness
towards others. Their leaving Bethlehem, the
place where Rachael of old was buried, was viewed
as deserting their own people at a time of
hardhship. Samuel, a spiritual giant and author
of the Book of Ruth, weaves the account of the
Fall of man and the scattering of Israel along
with the Atonement of Christ and the gathering of
Isreal in this classic story. The famine in the
land was both temporal and spiritual. The story
of Ruth is set in the time of the judges when
there was no king in Israel. That is to say
(1) Israel was ruled by judges, and (2) the
people were in a state of apostasy and did not
worhsip the king of kings, who is Jesus Christ.
Indeed, there were no king in Israel.
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The Fall of Adam and the Scattering of
Israel Ruth 13-5 And Eli-melech Naomis
husband died and she was left, and her two sons.
And they took them wives of the women of Moab
the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of
the other Ruth and they dwelled there about ten
years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of
them and the woman was left of her two sons and
her husband. While living in Moab, the land
that had been giving to Lot many centuries
earlier, Naomi lost her husband and two sons.
This is a similitud of the Fall of Adam where
Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden
(Bethlehem) and death fell upon them. This is
also a prophecy of the the scattering of Israel.
The wives of the two sons of Naomi were not born
under the covenant and as a result would not have
been sealed to their husbands in the eternities.
In other words, they were gentiles.
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Ruth and Naomi Ruth 111 And Naomi said, Turn
again, my daughters why will ye go with me? Are
there yet anymore in my womb, that they may be
your husbands? Not only were there no sons in
her womb to become husbands to Orpah and Ruth to
raise seed in behalf of their dead husbands,
Naomii assured them that she was to old to
remarry, and even if by some miracle she were to
remarry and have children that very night, it
would be many years before they could become
husbands to raise seed for their brothers. In
other words, says Naomi, I cant do anything for
you. I am not your Savior.
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And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee,

or to return from following after
thee for whither thou goest, I will go

and where thou lodgest, I will lodge thy
people shall be my people,
and thy
God my God. (Ruth 116).
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Naomi returns to God Ruth 119-21 They (Naomi
and Ruth) came to Beth-lehem. When they were come
to Beth-lehem, all the city was moved about
them, and they said, Is this Naomi? And she said
unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara for
the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I
went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home
again empty. The story of Naomi is our story.
We come to earth in a fallen state. We earn our
living by the sweat of our brow. Naomi, whose
name means pleasant, and who tells her former
friends to call her bitterness, because life
doesnt always take us where we want. Like the
prodigal son, she said, I left the gospel behind.
I now return empty asking for forgivness. Like
Israel, she was scattered, but like the barley in
the field that was gleaned by Ruth, she was
gathered and with her was a Gentile, Ruth, who
received the gospel as a result of the gathering.

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Ruth 119-22  A. So they two went until they
came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when
they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city
was moved about them, and they said, is this
Naomi? And she said unto them,    B. Call me
not Naomi (pleasant) , call me Mara (bitter)
1. for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly
with me. 2. I went out full, and the
Lord hath brought me home again empty B. Why
then call ye me Naomi, (pleasant) 1.
Seeing the Lord hath testified against me,
2. And the Almighty hath afflicted me? A. So
Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her
daughter in law, with her, which returned out of
the country of Moab and they came to Beth-lehem
in the beginning of barley harvest.
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Ruth as a Missionary Ruth 21-2 And Naomi had a
kinsman of her husbands, a mighty man of wealth,
of the family of Eli-melech and his name was
Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,
Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of
corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace.
And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. The
law required the owner of the land to leave some
grain in the field for the poor and the widows.
The kernals of grain were left in three ways. (1)
The corners of the field was not harvested (2)
If a shock of grain fell along the wayside, it
was not to be picked up. (3) The gleaning of
indiviudal heads of wheat and barley was a long
back breaking endeavor. Today, missionaries go
out into the field and find the same type of
harvesting conditions. Ruth was a gleaner.
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Boaz a type of Christ Ruth 210 Then she fell
on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and
said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine
eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me,
seeing I am a stranger? Ruth had a testimony.
She believed in Christ. Like Abraham, she became
a stranger in a strange land and God had mercy
(Ruth means mercy) on her soul. The Gospel is
for everyone, both Jew and Gentile. Ruth was a
Gentile. Orpah returned to her family. Years
later, the great grandson of Ruth, DAVID threw
rocks at GOLIATH, a descendant of Orpah, the
sister in law of Ruth.
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Boaz as Christ Ruth 212-13  The Lord
recompense thy work, and a full reward be given
thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings
thou art come to trust. Then she said, Let me
find favour in thy sight, my lord for that thou
hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken
friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not
like unto one of thine handmaidens. Boaz is a
type of Christ. If we trust and have faith, it
is the wings of Christ that carry us to where we
are compensated for our works and where we
receive a full reward given by the Lord God of
Israel, even Eternal Life. Ruth realized that
even though she was a gentile she was entitled to
the same blessings that God has in store for his
covenant people.
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Boaz as Christ Ruth 220 And Naomi said unto
her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the Lord,
who hath not left off his kindness to the living
and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man
is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsman.
Naomi bears witness that her family and live
again because of the Atonement of Christ. She
compares Boaz to Christ.
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Faithfulness of Ruth Ruth 38-10 And it came
to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and
turned himself and, behold, a woman lay at his
feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she
answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid spread
therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid for thou
art a near kinsman. Kinsman redeemer
Like Boaz would be the protector of Ruth, so is
Christ our protector and covers us with his love
and prepares the way for us to overcome death and
sin.
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Prophecy of the Latter days Ruth 310 And he
said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter
for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter
end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou
followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
This is a prophecy of the scattering and
gathering of Israel. In the latter days, the
gospel will be restored and like Ruth, Latter-day
Saints weill not follow after young men or after
sin.
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Ruth as Mary Ruth 414-16 And the women said
unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not
left thee this day without a kinsman, that his
name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be
unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher
of thine old age for thy daughter in law, which
loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven
sons, hath born him. And Naomi took the child,
and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto
it. The lineage of Christ Tamar/Judah to
Boaz/Ruth to David/Bathsheba Like Mary, they
were all beautiful and strange women (see Japath)

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Foreshadowings A major theme of the Book of Ruth
is that of the kinsman-redeemer. Boaz, a relative
of Ruth on her husbands side, acted upon his
duty as outlined in the Mosaic Law to redeem an
impoverished relative from his or her
circumstances (Lev. 2547-49). This scenario is
repeated by Christ, who redeems us, the
spiritually impoverished, from the slavery of
sin. Our heavenly Father sent His own Son to the
cross so that we might become children of God and
brothers and sisters of Christ. By being our
Redeemer, He makes us His kinsmen. Practical
Application The sovereignty of our great God is
clearly seen in the story of Ruth. He guided her
every step of the way to become His child and
fulfill His plan for her to become an ancestor of
Jesus Christ (Matthew 15). In the same way, we
have assurance that God has a plan for each of
us. Just as Naomi and Ruth trusted Him to provide
for them, so should we.
Lineage of Mary Gentiles are listed. (3) Tamar, a
Canaanite, (5) Rahab, a Canaanite, (5) Ruth, a
Moabite, (6) Bathsheba, a Hittite. Foreigners
like these symbolized GOD's desire to save all,
with no distinction between Jew and Gentile, Col
311.
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A Type of the Scattering and GatheringKenneth K.
Satterfield The Story of Ruth is a wonderful
type of the scattering and gathering of Israel.
The following is a list of several similarities
with the scattering and the gathering. (1) Going
to Moab. The book begins with Elimelch and his
family leaving Bethlehem (Heb. meaning 'house of
bread') because of famine. Immediately, the
biblical reader would be reminded of the curses
that would come upon Israel for breaking the
covenant. Famine was one of the main curses used
by the Lord to humble Israel. Going to the land
of Moab typifies the future scattering of Israel
among the nations of the world (see Lev. 2633
Deut. 427 2863-68 3226 Jer. 916 Ezek.
2215 3619 Amos 99 1 Ne. 223-5) as a result
of the broken covenant. Israel would become mixed
with the gentiles among whom they lived, even
through marriage! The offspring of these
marriages would become the seed of Abraham. (2)
Famine abated. This is a representation of the
gospel being restored in the latter days. (3)
The return to Bethlehem. The return of Naomi with
Ruth to Bethlehem typifies the gathering of
Israel in the last days in which many gentiles
will return as well. (4) Marriage of Ruth and
Boaz. This typifies the process by which Israel
and gentiles receive the promised blessings of
the gospel. Boaz is a go'el or redeemer. Only
through the power of his redemption can both
Naomi and Ruth receive the blessings of
inheritance for themselves and posterity. The
similarity of Boaz with Christ are obvious.
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Arnold Muwonge BOAZ - A type of Christ. His
character was integral. Dependable. He is
faithful, rich (psalm 24), able to help, our
provider. We must learn to trust him. He gives us
everything. He will always turn up. We can be
confident in him. He operates according to
covenant. Our salvation is based on
covenant. NAOMI - a type of Israel. Goes away
from God for what she wants. But God brings her
back! She goes away from God because of her
insecurities. To get her needs met. Ends up where
she is not to be. Goes through the wrong doors.
The wrong door can take 5 mins to open, 10
years to close. Naomi is a type of israel. She
left a place where she was actually full. We
forget how blessed we are. Vs 21. Thank God for
life, for salvation. The grace of God which keeps
you. RUTH is a type of the church. A Moabitess.
A nation founded from conceived from terrible
immorality, considered cursed to the 10th
generation. A rejected bloodline! Now we find
ourselves on a place where we were never meant to
be. There is grace. There is nobody God cannot
save!