Ruth: A Woman of Character and Faith

The story of Ruth is a story of challenge, loyalty, faith, character and God’s blessing. What can we learn from Ruth, an inspiring woman of faith?

In the biblical story, we meet Ruth in the land of Moab at a very difficult time in her life. She was the newly widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi, who was also experiencing great sadness at the loss of her husband and two sons.

The biblical book of Ruth gives a short glimpse of their lives; and through it, we see amazing virtues of faith, submission, hard work, gratitude and humility.

In the end, we watch as God’s hand redeems those who follow Him and heals the lives of the brokenhearted.

Ruth’s history

Ruth was a Moabitess, and her people worshipped false gods. But she had married a man from Judah, Naomi’s son. She learned about the true God, the God of Israel.

Both Ruth and her sister-in-law Orpah lost their husbands and were in very desperate situations. Typically in ancient Israel a brother would step in to marry a widow and continue the family line; but in this case, there were no more brothers. Being a widow at that time in history meant that you would depend upon the kindness of others to sustain you, and it was a very challenging existence.

We see in Ruth 1:6 that Naomi wished to return to her homeland of Judah, where she had heard God had provided His people relief from the famine. She urged her daughters-in-law to go back to their homeland and pursue a life that would give them husbands to care for them. Naomi was very distressed and didn’t want to burden them any longer with the curse from God that she felt was upon her. She even decided to call herself Mara, which meant “bitter,” instead of Naomi, which meant “my delight.”

Ruth’s choice

In one of the most beautiful passages of the Bible, Ruth declares, “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16-17).

Ruth chose to stay with the woman who was hurting and alone. She chose to follow after the one true God rather than go back to Moab and idol worship. 

They journeyed to Bethlehem to begin their new life. Ruth’s choice to have faith in God and follow His ways began to produce the fruits of blessing and a life of healing, both physically and spiritually.

Ruth’s character

They arrived in Bethlehem around the time of the barley harvest; and upon finding out about a distant family relative named Boaz, Ruth requested that she be allowed to go glean from his fields.

In God’s great wisdom, long before Ruth’s time, He had already established a provision for those who were poor and in great need. In Deuteronomy 24:19 God commanded the people of Israel that they should not gather every bit of food from their fields, but to leave some for “the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.” But God’s provision required a person to still labor to receive the blessing of that food.

Hard work

Ruth caught the eye of Boaz as she labored tirelessly all day for her mother-in-law. Boaz was impressed by the stories he heard of her love, sacrifice and faith that had led her to find refuge in the wings of the LORD (Ruth 2:12). Boaz instructed her to stay close to his women and to drink from the water his men drew. He commanded the men not to touch her. On her first day of working, God had already provided Ruth with food, water and safety.

Humility

Ruth bowed before Boaz as he placed these blessings upon her. She knew she had found favor, and she was visibly grateful. She was later asked by her mother-in-law to go before Boaz to ask for further redemption.

To understand this, we need to look at the background. Naomi and Boaz both knew that relatives were expected to follow the law of the kinsman redeemer (Leviticus 25:25) to help restore a family’s land and also the family name for future heirs to continue the line if a woman was widowed.

Ruth humbled herself to go before Boaz, and at his feet she requested that he take her under his wing. Boaz told her, “Do not fear. I will do for you all that you request” (Ruth 3:11). There was one relative who was a closer kinsman, but that man refused the duty. So Boaz quickly and gladly accepted the honor of restoring the land and family line by marrying Ruth.

Ruth redeemed

The end of her story paints a beautiful picture of God’s intervention. Boaz and Ruth were married and had a son named Obed. Ruth, the widowed woman from Moab, became the grandmother of Jesse and the great-grandmother of King David, the most well-known of Israel’s kings. This means she was an ancestor of Jesus Christ!

The choices we make, especially as they turn us toward God, can impact many generations! Ruth received blessings from God because of each choice she made in the face of difficult trials. God blessed her faith and protected her from experiencing the lonely future her mother-in-law had feared for her.

Her husband Boaz said, “All the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman” (Ruth 3:11). What an amazing testament to the fruits God can work in our lives as we yield to Him in faith!

Sarah Henderson and her husband, Andrew, attend the Columbus/Cambridge, Ohio, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.