"The story of Naomi, Ruth, & Boazis one of the gems of sacred literature -  so beautiful that it is not surpassed in any writings of fiction or fact.  The incidents of the story are among the most fascinating of the entire Bible, marked with poetic beauty and simplicity.  The climax is reached in the romance and marriage between Ruth and Boaz.  But the events of some years prior must be read for one to fully appreciate this beautiful and happy climax.

Ruth the heroine of the story, was a lovely maiden of Moab, while Boaz was a nobleman and wealthy citizen of Israel.  The Moabites were aliens to the Israelites, idolaters, and intermixure of the two races was forbidden by Jewish law.  Mutual enmitiesexisted between the two races.

For economic reasons Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and thier two sons had migrated to the land of Moab from the little Hebrew town of Bethlehem.  Some of the Moabite people were wholesomely influenced by the piety, devoutness and religious strictness of this family.  Ruth became the wife of one of the sons, and quite evidently a proselyte to the Hebrew religion.  Tragedy came to this Hebrew family in a strange land.  Elimelech and the two sons died , and three lonely widows were left desolate.  When Naomi decided to return to Israel and to her native town of Bethlehem, Ruth refused to sever her attachment to Naomi and accompanied her.  The depth of her love for her mother-in-law and her devotion to the Hebrew religion were given expression in these immortal words:

In providing for the material needs of herself and her mother-in-law Ruth followed a law and well established custom in Israel which provided the priviledge of gathering fragments of grain behind the reapers at harvest time.  This was a humiliating and arduous form of employment followed only by the very poor and needy.  The nobility, industrious disposition, and frugality of Ruth were impressively manifest in this menial engagement.

Through the strange workings of divine providence it happened that Ruth was gleaning scattered grain in the wheat fields of the nobleman Boaz, a distant relative of her deceased husband.  While making his usual rounds of observation among his reapers, Boaz was attracted to this young woman, and inquuired about her identity and sought other information about her.  He made himself known to her as the owner of the farm and extended unusual courtesies and favors to her.  He invited her to have lunch with him, and the acquaintance soon blossomed into an enchanting romance.  Genuine love for each other throbbed in the hearts of both.  According to the customs in Israel under the circumstances in which both Ruth and Boaz related, Ruth must take the lead in presenting her claims for marriage,  This she did with timidity and modesty under the guidance of her mother-in-law Naomi and in accordance with the customs of Israel.  The love and esteem which Ruth manifested for Boaz were fully reciprocated, and the nobility of his character shined in superb brilliance and glory.  He took the necessary legal steps to remove all the barriers to marriage between himself and Ruth, and she soon became his bride.  Thers was born to them a son whom they named Obed who was later the father of Jesse who was the father of David.  Boaz and Ruth became the ancestors of a long line of kings who ruled over Israel and Judah, and of the Messiah-Saviour."
 

* As printed in the Heirloom Bible, DeVore & Sons, Inc.  Wichita, Ks.