This reading is Ruth 3-4.

My apologies for the delay in posting. I couldn’t access the Internet yesterday. I’m going to aim at posting 3 times per week – roughly Monday / Wednesday / Friday.

Today we wrap up Ruth. She appears to have given up on the prospect of marrying again until Boaz came on the scene.

When Ruth approaches Boaz in the middle of the night in chapter 3 verses 7-9, it seems rather odd. Some have questioned whether what she did was immoral. However, it appears to be a way of proposing to Boaz that he fulfill the role of “kinsman-redeemer.” This was a custom where relatives had the option to “redeem” widows and take care of them.

There was a closer kinsman-redeemer who had the first option to marry Ruth. He seemed interested in Ruth’s property until he found out that Ruth came with it.

The story has a truly happy ending when Ruth and Boaz marry. The local people laud Ruth by saying that as a daughter-in-law she is better than seven sons (a great compliment in that culture).

The book closes with a brief genealogy, noting that Ruth is King David’s great-grandmother. Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, descended from David. So this seemingly simple story shows how God used an unusual series of events to teach many lessons and to show how the union of Ruth and Boaz eventually led to the birth of the Messiah.

The next reading is Jude. It is only one page, but it has a lot of interesting messages. Take a few minutes to read it and then pat yourself on the back for reading a whole book of the Bible in one sitting!