Much of who we are and how we see the world is shaped by our earliest childhood experiences. ...

In response to the gracious protection and provision of Boaz, Ruth followed a common Eastern mode of demonstrating gratitude and humbly received his favor. Without tipping his hand, the author paints a lovely picture of Boaz as a respectable man with character like Jesus’, and Ruth as a blessed and cared-for woman who respected Boaz easily....

To modern ears, the exchange of prayers between Boaz and his workers seems especially peculiar; very rarely does a boss walk into his or her business to hear priestly blessings showered down from the cubicles. Boaz was apparently a man who was an evangelist and pastor to his workers. He loved and cared for them so well that they spoke well of him and prayed to God for him....

As Ruth went out to glean for food, she found herself in the fields of Boaz....

Scripture has much to say regarding the poor. There are both righteous and unrighteous poor people. The righteous poor include those who are widows (like Ruth and Naomi), orphans, sick, elderly, immigrants, and hard-working people who struggle to make ends meet, even such as our Lord Jesus. The unrighteous poor include those who are poor because of sin such as laziness, dr...

The timeless book of Ruth is timelier than ever. For the first time in U.S. history, the majority of adults are single. The same is true in many other nations around the world. As anyone seeking a mate can testify, finding a safe person is perhaps more difficult than ever. ...

Perhaps the women were sitting together and weeping loudly at the thought of adding the loss of their close friendship upon their already devastated lives as Naomi continues to persuade her daughters-in-law to return to their families in Moab rather than journey with her for an uncertain future in Bethlehem. Orpah chose the ordinary course of reasonable action and returned...

In his book Necessary Endings, Dr. Henry Cloud explains how there are times in life where we need to have a clear ending with a person or place so that we can heal up and move into a new season of life. This is what happens after the funerals in Moab....

Have you ever hit rock bottom? Have you ever lost someone you dearly loved? Have you ever felt like your whole world came crashing down, that there was no one to turn to and God seemed far away? ...

While in Moab, Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, saw their sons marry Moabite women, which wasn’t technically forbidden in Scripture (Deuteronomy 7:1...