A Teaching Outline for the Book of Ruth

Post tenebras lux. This Latin phrase, meaning “after darkness, light” (taken in part from Job 17:12), became a motto of hope for Christians who recovered the Gospel of grace after centuries of corruption. And in many ways, the book of Ruth represents that same truth. This account, spanning just shy of twelve years, depicts how one woman’s life suffered tragedy but ended in triumph. And in an even greater way, the account shows that when Israel was in moral darkness, God was still carrying out His plan for a bright future.

Beginning “in the days when the judges governed” (Ruth 1:1), the narrative opens with an Israelite named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons who traveled to the nearby country of Moab in order to escape a famine that had fallen on the land of Israel. Upon arrival, they likely believed their troubles were over—when they really were just beginning. Some time after coming to Moab, Elimech died (cf. Ruth 1:3). Then within ten years of being in Moab, and after marrying Moabite women, both sons died (cf. Ruth 1:4-5). Most ancient laws prohibited women from inheriting or owning land, so when all of these men died Moab, the women lost everything; the land reverted back to Moabite control, leaving them completely destitute. At that point, Naomi determined it was best to go back to Israel. She was without a husband, without sons, without land, and without hope (cf. Ruth 1:12). Yet, in God’s providence, she wasn’t completely alone: Ruth, the widow of Mahlon (cf. Ruth 4:10), determined to accompany her.

In fact, Ruth was so devoted not only to Naomi, but to Naomi’s God—Yahweh—that her decision to stay with Naomi was not merely one of consideration, but conversion. In perhaps one of the greatest statements of cost-counting discipleship recorded in Scripture, Ruth said to Naomi, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17). This complete abandonment of her former life is reminiscent of Christ’s requirement to follow Him: “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Though salvation is free, discipleship will cost you everything—often including friends, family, and familiarity.

During the ten years that Ruth had spent with Noami’s family, she learned about her need for a substitutionary atoning sacrifice that could only be provided by the Lord (cf. Gen. 22:7-8, 14). Thus, like Christians in Thessalonica who “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9), Ruth turned to Yahweh from Chemosh. And her life reflected the grandeur of the Gospel message that rescues both Jews and Gentiles (cf. John 10:16, Rom. 10:12). But what cannot be missed is the eschatological perspective that also bolstered Ruth’s faith: her desire was not only to worship Yahweh, but to live and die in the land He promised His people, which indicated her understanding of God’s coming kingdom in which she would one day reside. Like other saints of the past who desired to be buried in the Promised Land (cf. Gen. 50:5, 25), the physical location of their corpses was not due to religious superstition, but religious expectation, in which they wanted to be raised from the dead in the very place they had been longing to see (cf. Heb. 11:10-19, John 11:24). In that respect, then, Ruth implicitly said, “Where you go, I will go, where you die, I will die, where you are buried, I will be buried—and where you are resurrected, I will be resurrected!” Such has been the hope of all of God’s people throughout history (cf. Job 19:26, 1 Cor. 15:12-19).

Though Naomi went through incredible distress, it was all a part of God’s plan to redeem Ruth and use her for His purposes and glory in Israel. As with all suffering, God didn’t merely “allow” suffering in Naomi’s life, as if He were a cosmic bystander who chose not to avert disaster, but ordained it for His glory and her good (cf. Isa. 45:7, John 11:4, Rom. 8:28). And He had not only an all-wise plan, but an unending love, for Naomi. She faced trouble, hardship, and even famine, yet none of those things could separate her from the love of Christ (cf. Rom. 8:35)—a loyal, faithful, covenantal love (a hesed love, in Hebrew). Christians today can face trials with that same perspective.

Upon returning to Israel with Naomi, Ruth looked for a field to glean and “happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz” (Ruth 2:3). In deliberate sarcasm, the writer more literally said, “Her chance chanced upon the portion of the field belonging to Boaz,” in order to express that this turn of events was not as “luck” would have it, but as God would have it. The Law of Moses instructed Israelites to leave portions of their crops unharvested so that the poor could have a way to be cared for (cf. Deut. 24:19). Though the nation as a whole had become lawless and ungodly, there was a remnant of faithful believers—among whom was Boaz. Thus, through Boaz’s generous and faithful obedience to Mosaic Law, God provided Ruth and Naomi with an abundance of food (cf. Ruth 2:14-17). Those in the church today follow a similar principle: “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).

After recognizing that Boaz was a close relative (cf. Ruth 2:20) who had already expressed affection for Ruth (cf. Ruth 2:11-16), Naomi determined that he would be a wonderful husband for her widowed daugher-in-law. Thus, she concocted a plan in which, as Boaz was sleeping near his harvested grain (a common practice in order to prevent theft), Ruth would approach him to suggest he be her kinsman-redeemer in marriage (cf. Ruth 3:9). According to Mosaic Law, “When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her” (Deut. 25:5). In this case, Boaz did not live with Mahlon nor was he Mahlon’s brother, thus he was not absolutely obligated to marry Ruth. Nevertheless, Ruth appealed to the fact that he was a “close relative” (Ruth 3:9). And she was hoping he would “redeem” her by taking her as his own and being her provider, protector, leader, and ultimately, husband. Although there was no implication of immorality in the nighttime encounter, it was still an undoubtedly bizarre situation: a marriage request from a Moabite to an Israelite, a woman to a man, and a poor widow to a rich bachelor! He was under no obligation to agree, and yet he did (cf. Ruth 3:11).

In this paradigm we see one of the greatest illustrations of the Gospel. Though we are conceived in sin, morally bankrupt, and enslaved to our evil ways, through Jesus we have the hope of redemption. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Ruth asked Boaz to “spread your covering over your maid” (Ruth 3:9), and believers have a God who “will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge” (Psa. 91:4). We come to God with nothing but faith, and rather than waiting for us to clean ourselves up, He “justifies the ungodly” (Rom. 4:5). The juxtaposition between Ruth and Boaz infinitely pales in comparison to that between sinful man and the sinless Savior. It’s grace upon grace that we have a Redeemer!

With Boaz’s agreement to marriage in place, the only remaining obstacle was a closer relative a man who had the right of first refusal (cf. Ruth 3:12). Through clever mediation, Boaz influenced the closer relative to relinquish his right, and confirmed it with the elders of the city (cf. Ruth 4:5-12). In the end, Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and they bore a child named Obed, who would become the grandfather of King David, one of the greatest kings of Israel. Though Obed was biologically Ruth’s, he was theologically Naomi’s (cf. Ruth 4:17). The God who had taken much from Naomi ended up giving her—and Israel—far more in the end. Though Naomi felt as if Yahweh’s hand was against her, it was actually a hand of grace reaching down into her broken life to make it whole. It was God’s providential hand preparing her for exceedingly and abundantly beyond all that she could ask or think (cf. Eph. 3:20). Naomi began full of family but empty of food. She then recovered food but lost her family. She ended full of food and full of a new family. That’s precisely how God operates. When God’s people are at their lowest, God’s grace is at its highest (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9). So it is that God’s grace in the book of Ruth could be succinctly summarized like this: “Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that… ‘A son has been born to Naomi!’ So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 1:1, 4:17).

Finally, the fact that all of this took place against the backdrop of one of Israel’s darkest periods in history makes the account all the more gracious. God didn’t wait to dispense this plan until the nation’s spiritual condition improved. Rather, He was actively governing every situation, working all things toward His redemptive purposes and orchestrating every detail exactly as intended. For that reason, we might more accurately characterize the book of Ruth as inter tenebras lux: “during darkness, light.” During the darkness. In the midst of it. There may have been no king of Israel at the time (cf. Judg. 21:25), but there were ancestors to the king of Israel. And through Obed and David would come Jesus, the greatest King this world will ever know (cf. Matt. 1:5-6, Luke 3:31-32). Despite the horrific lawlessness that was occurring, God was still at work. And if God can demonstrate that kind of grace for an entire nation—let alone the entire world—imagine what He can do in your life. When the foresight of your faith struggles to see God’s purposes, look back with the hindsight of your faith upon God’s providence.

As you teach verse by verse through the book of Ruth, may you equip others to do just that. The following outline is offered to help.

Providential Affliction after Relocation (Ruth 1:1-22)

Distress from Famine in Israel (Ruth 1:1-2)

Death of Family in Moab (Ruth 1:3-13)

Display of Faithfulness in Moab (Ruth 1:14-18)

Discovery of Food in Israel (Ruth 1:19-22)

Providential Abundance from a Relative (Ruth 2:1-23)

Permission in Boaz’s Field (Ruth 2:1-7)

Protection from Boaz’s Workers (Ruth 2:8-13)

Provision with Boaz’s Crops (Ruth 2:14-23)

Providential Arrangements for a Redeemer (Ruth 3:1-18)

Scandalous Plan to Meet the Kinsman (Ruth 3:1-5)

Startling Request to Marry the Widow (Ruth 3:6-13)

Sincere Intent to Mediate the Issue (Ruth 3:14-18)

Providential Ancestors to Royalty (Ruth 4:1-22)

Litigation to Become a Spouse (Ruth 4:1-12)

Lovingkindness to Bear a Son (Ruth 4:13-17)

Lineage to Bring About the Savior (Ruth 4:18-22)