Ruth 3-4: A Representative for All the Others

And just like that, so ends the Book of Ruth, a short, yet powerful story.  Chapters 3 and 4 describe Ruth and Boaz's "courtship" as well as their marriage and the birth of their son Obed.  There are a lot of layers to the union of Ruth and Boaz.  Obviously much of it is concerned with the Levitical law and a family's inheritance, the custom of levirate marriages, and ultimately the lineage that will produce David (and more significantly, eventually, the Divine Person of Jesus Christ).  Chapter 3 exhibits Ruth as a supremely humble and profoundly prudent figure.  She knows the law and what is entitled to her; she seeks to honor her husband by maintaining his line and inheritance.  There is obviously a symbolic significance to her act of lying before the feet of Boaz -- such were the customs and manners of the time.  It's a powerful moment in the overall story, as it communicates so much with hardly any words.  Chapter 4, after the marriage and birth of Obed (which brings so much joy to Noemi especially), the narrative shifts to one of familial lineage and inheritance.  Instead of focusing in on the figures of Ruth and Boaz, at the end of the book we zoom out, quite widely, to see their place in the overall picture, which goes back to Judah, Perez, and Tamar, and will extend to David and beyond.  For the Jews living at the time of the kings, we can see why Ruth's position is so important.  She and her story sit at a crux in the history of God's chosen people.  Her every action, from staying with Noemi, going to Bethlehem, and giving herself in marriage to Boaz, is brimming with significance.  And it can't be stressed enough that Ruth herself was not even of the chosen people.  She was a Moabitess, a pagan, a gentile.  And though she found the true faith and was welcomed into it by gracious and merciful figures like Noemi and Boaz, she never ceased being an outsider.  She represents the rest of us.  Through her line comes Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer of all of mankind, not just a select group.  Ruth in many ways represents the Church.  In fact, in chapter 4 when Boaz seeks to ensure a relative closer to Ruth's deceased husband does not plan to marry her, we see a type of symbolic drama play out.  Christ came first to save the Jews.  Boaz first, obeying the law, offers Ruth in marriage to a closer relation.  The Jews rejected Christ's teachings.  The closer relation rejects Ruth.  So Christ establishes His Church and sends His apostles out to all nations.  So Boaz marries Ruth and brings gentile blood into Judah's line.  The universality of the future Church is all there in the incredible Book of Ruth.