Ruth 2 - A Breath of Fresh Air

One thing I've quickly noticed about the Book of Ruth is how much different it is tonally from Judges.  Though the Book of Judges is full of highly dramatic stories featuring heroic saviors, there is also a great amount of human failure, sinfulness, and evil.  It's a mix of both ends of the moral spectrum.  Though it can be uplifting to read about figures such as Gideon and Samson, for stretches of Judges it can also be rather depressing to read about how consistently and stubbornly corrupt we humans can be.  In Ruth, however, we zero in on just a few characters and everyone seems to radiate goodness.  There is a great deal of charity, kindness, and piety in this book so far.  It's a breath of fresh air.  Ruth herself is a figure of noble humility, and in chapter 2 we see the loving generosity of Boaz exhibited through his dealings with Ruth in his field.  There are many blessings scattered throughout this chapter.  From Boaz greeting his workers ("The Lord be with you.  And they answered him: The Lord bless thee" (Ruth 2:4).) to Noemi's graciousness toward Boaz ("Blessed be he of the Lord: because the same kindness which he showed to the living, he hath kept also to the dead" (Ruth 2:20).)  There is a great feeling of warmth throughout this chapter, and it is highly comforting.  It's the equivalent of witnessing a good deed, of having your faith in humanity restored, of being reminded that the world is not all evil, of having hope that good will ultimately prevail.