“I had no idea Ruth was so relevant to the current moment we are in the midst of as a Nation.” 

That comment came from a college professor who is currently teaching an online summer course on the Old Testament book of Ruth. He wanted me to know he’s using both my books on Ruth—The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules and Finding God in the Margins.” 

He also wanted me to know how his students were responding.

The book of Ruth is an Old Testament text that just keeps on giving. Students are discovering in Ruth a goldmine of rich theology along with astonishing relevance to 21st issues confronting us today.

Topics often covered by U.S. national media headlines are addressed in the book of Ruth. Some examples are famine, refugees, death, widowhood, infertility, border crossings, illegal immigration, poverty, the welfare system, female vulnerability to violence, male power, and a foreign female immigrant boldly challenging national compliance to the letter versus the spirit of the law.

Often viewed (and preached) as a Cinderella love story between Ruth and Boaz, Old Testament scholars have for years recognized the book of Ruth as the story of a Female Job. The book of Ruth begins with Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi. This is Naomi’s story. Naomi enters a Job-like struggle with God when her whole world falls apart. In her despair, Naomi’s discovers through the hesed (sacrificial love) actions of Ruth and Boaz for her, that God is still fully present in her story. He has a vital kingdom mission for her that depends on the theology she gleans in the school of suffering. Remarkably, through the costly acts of love demonstrated ultimately by all three major characters (including by Naomi), God was advancing his purposes for the world. 

Learning what Old Testament scholars were discovering about the book of Ruth was life changing for me—gave me a whole new perspective on how to live as God’s child and truly strive to emulate Jesus, who is the perfect imago Dei and the ultimate hesed giver.

It is hard to describe how grateful I am to learn that today others are unleashing the power of the book of Ruth in their own stories.

Here are student comments: 

Female student: “I am grateful to have been introduced to these books by Carolyn Custis James. She is an awesome author and easy to read. Also, she has made these deep theological themes easy to understand for people like me.”

Male student: “The second things I really noticed and stuck out to me was the tendency to look at the initial relationship with Ruth and Boaz the wrong way. The other digs into the fact that most people see this as a love type story that has Boaz actually pining for Ruth. When explained by the author, it actually takes this view off the table. If this was the intent all along, this would show that Boaz had ulterior motives, and thus take the picture of hesed out of the equation. This is also another new perspective to me, and I love it. It gives me a deeper understanding and a new way to speak about this book of the Bible.” 

Male student: “Before starting the course, I was wondering why a full course should be devoted to this small book of Ruth, but now I completely understand, it is worth it. Many things we can learn from the book of Ruth to help us in our relationship with God and humanity cannot be over emphasized.”

From the professor: “Many of the men in the class have also spoken positively about the notion of the Blessed Alliance. I have been surprised as I wasn’t sure how they would respond.”