Lonnie-Sharon Williams

Moabitess Lonnie-Sharon Williams

There are only four chapters in the Biblical Book of Ruth, but very little information is given as to why she decided to leave her own country of Moab and her Moabite gods to travel with her widowed Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem-Judah. She and her best friend Orpah married two Israelite men and their lives together are given attention in this book. Once well-to-do, Ruth was now considered poor and upon arriving in Bethlehem had to glean during the harvest to survive. Why did she decide to follow an Israelite woman who did not worship her own pagan gods, and later choose to embrace the one-God religion of a deity which had no form? In this story, Ruth is able to glean on land owned by Boaz, a handsome landowner and a romance ensues. Since God works in mysterious ways, the hand of Yahweh is shown in this fictional story of perseverance and gives insight into human and spiritual love. Key characters are Ruth and Orpah, Naomi, and Boaz.