Backdrop to Ruth

Written By Jason B

Stepping Into an Ongoing Covenant Story

Before we ever read the Book of Ruth, it is important that we understand we are stepping into an ongoing covenant story. Ruth is not the beginning of a narrative. It is a continuation. Without the larger biblical context, we will miss much of what is happening in this short but profound book. Specifically, we must understand Israel’s relationship with God.

The Covenantal Pattern Established at Creation

From the very beginning of Scripture, we see that humanity’s relationship with God is:

  • Covenantal

  • Vocational

  • Land-centered

In the creation story we observe several foundational elements:

  • Humanity is placed in sacred space (Eden).

  • Humanity is given priestly stewardship.

  • Humanity is commissioned to represent God’s rule on earth.

  • Humanity lives under divine command.

While the word covenant is not explicitly used in Genesis 1–2, the structure of the relationship clearly reflects covenantal dynamics. God creates Adam, places him in Eden, and establishes commands, expectations, and relational accountability.

The prophet Hosea later alludes to this reality when he writes:

“But like Adam they transgressed the covenant…” (Hosea 6:7)

This passage is often cited as evidence that Adam stood in a covenantal relationship with God.

When Covenant Is Breached

When humanity violates this covenant structure, several things occur:

  • Trust is broken.

  • Authority is rejected.

  • Judgment follows.

  • Exile occurs.

From the very start of the Bible, we see a repeating relational pattern emerge:

Covenant → Breach → Exile → Preservation → Restoration

This pattern will later define Israel’s relationship with God as well.

Preservation Through the Remnant

After humanity’s failure, God does not abandon creation. Instead, He preserves a covenant line.

We see this preservation unfold through:

  • Seth after the death of Abel

  • Noah and his family

  • Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

This is often referred to as Remnant Theology — the idea that God preserves a faithful line even when the world collapses morally. The remnant is not merely a list of insiders versus outsiders. It consists of those who respond to the voice of Hashem, walk in His covenant, and demonstrate trust and obedience (Deuteronomy 30:1–6). In this way, the remnant is both covenantally defined and open to the repentant — including Gentiles.

The Narrowing of Covenant: Abraham

As the biblical narrative progresses, God narrows His covenant relationship from humanity broadly to one specific person — Abraham — and thus to one specific family. The covenant with Abraham becomes the foundation through which all subsequent covenants will unfold and ultimately bless the nations.

Within the Abrahamic Covenant, three key elements emerge:

  • Land Promise

  • Seed Promise

  • Blessing to the Nations

Israel’s chosenness is rooted here — in God’s covenant with Abraham.

From Family to Nation: The Exodus

By the time we arrive at Exodus, Abraham’s descendants have become a people — the nation of Israel. They are living as slaves in Egypt under Pharaoh’s rule. Through Moses, God delivers them from bondage. But this deliverance is not merely political liberation — it is covenantal redemption.

God describes Israel relationally as:

  • His firstborn son

  • His redeemed people

  • His treasured possession

They are being redeemed to belong to Him.

Covenant Constitution at Sinai

At Mount Sinai, Israel enters into a structured national covenant with God. This covenant establishes:

Identity

  • “Kingdom of priests”

  • “Holy nation”

Constitution

  • The Torah becomes the covenant charter governing national life.

This covenant framework defines Israel’s relationship with God going forward.

Blessings flow from obedience.
Curses flow from rebellion.

These covenant blessings and curses are laid out most fully in Deuteronomy. Everything flows from Israel’s covenant relationship with God.

The Theology of the Land

The land is not incidental — it is covenant space. Just as Eden was sacred geography, so too is Canaan… and ultimately Jerusalem.

Living in the land represents:

  • Covenant fidelity

  • Divine favor

  • Rest under God’s rule

Removal from the land represents:

  • Covenant breach

  • Judicial discipline

  • Relational fracture

Therefore famine, exile, and displacement are never merely economic or political realities — they are theological realities. This becomes critical background for understanding the Book of Ruth.

From Joshua to Judges: Covenant Fracture

In the Book of Joshua, God gives Israel the land He promised. Each tribe receives an inheritance tied to covenant identity. But by the time we reach Judges, covenant faithfulness is already eroding. Israel’s relationship with God fractures.

The defining summary of the period is chilling:

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

This stands in direct contrast to doing what God had commanded.

The national condition can be summarized this way:

  • Torah ignored

  • Covenant neglected

  • National identity fractured

  • Land security threatened

Judges portrays Israel living in the land physically — but not covenantally.

Entering the World of Ruth

It is precisely during this period — the time of the Judges — that we enter the narrative world of the Book of Ruth. Understanding this backdrop changes how we read the story.

Famine is not random.
Migration is not merely economic.
Marriage dynamics are not incidental.

Everything is unfolding within the larger covenant story of Israel and her relationship with God. And it is into that covenant story that Ruth — a Moabite woman — steps.

Author

The book is named for its main character, Ruth, a Moabite widow who married the Bethlehemite Boaz. She became an ancestor of King David (4:17, 22) and thus an ancestor of the Messiah (Matt. 1:1, 5–6). The author of Ruth is never named in the Bible. According to rabbinic tradition (Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 14a–15b), Samuel is the author. This is unlikely, however, since Samuel died before David actually became king, and Ruth 4:17–22 implies that David’s kingship was an established fact at the time of writing.

Date

The mention of David (4:17) and his genealogy (4:18–22) places the writing after David’s accession to the throne (2 Samuel 2) in c. 1010 B.C. The narrator’s explanation of a custom once current “in former times in Israel” (Ruth 4:7) distances him from the story’s events, which occurred “in the days when the judges ruled” (1:1). Therefore, the book could have been written any time after 1010 B.C. by an author using accurate oral or written material as historical sources.

IMMEDIATE BACKDROP TO THE BOOK OF RUTH

1. TIME — “In the Days When the Judges Ruled”

Ruth opens with a timestamp that is theologically loaded:

“In the days when the judges ruled…”

This places the story somewhere within the period covered in Judges (roughly 1200–1020 BC).

What characterized this time?

  • No centralized monarchy

  • Tribal fragmentation

  • Cycles of oppression

  • Localized leadership (judges)

  • Frequent covenant disobedience

The repeated summary of the era:

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

So Ruth unfolds not in national strength — but in national instability. It is a quiet story happening during loud covenant collapse.

2. LOCATION — BETHLEHEM & MOAB

Bethlehem (Judah)

Bethlehem means:

“House of Bread”

It sits in the tribal territory of Judah — the tribe already carrying leadership prophecy (Genesis 49).

It is:

  • Agricultural land

  • Grain-producing region

  • Within covenant inheritance territory

Yet the book opens with famine in the “House of Bread.” This irony signals covenant disruption.

Moab

Moab lies east of the Dead Sea. Historically, Moab is a complicated neighbor:

  • Descended from Lot (Genesis 19)

  • Often in tension with Israel

  • Associated with idolatry

  • Site of Israel’s seduction in Numbers 25

Yet it is also geographically close — a place of refuge during famine. So the story begins with movement:

From covenant land → to foreign land.

3. COVENANT CONDITIONS — FAMINE IN THE LAND

The famine is the first crisis in Ruth. Within Deuteronomic covenant logic, famine often signals:

  • Agricultural curse

  • National disobedience

  • Divine discipline

This does not mean Elimelech’s family is personally judged — but they are living inside covenant consequences affecting the nation. So the famine sets the tone:

  • Land instability

  • Provision scarcity

  • Survival pressure

It drives the family’s migration to Moab.

4. FAMILY MIGRATION — LEAVING THE LAND

Elimelech moves his family:

  • From Bethlehem (Judah)

  • To Moab

This raises covenant tension:

Leaving the land can imply:

  • Economic necessity

  • Loss of inheritance security

  • Physical distance from covenant structures (temple, festivals, community)

While not explicitly condemned, narratively it sets up vulnerability:

  • Sons marry Moabite women

  • Lineage continuity becomes complicated

5. SOCIAL & LEGAL STRUCTURES IN ISRAEL

To understand Ruth, your group must grasp that Torah law governs daily life. Two institutions are especially critical:

A. Gleaning Laws

Torah commands landowners to leave field edges and dropped grain for:

  • Poor

  • Widows

  • Orphans

  • Foreigners

This is covenant compassion embedded into agricultural economics. Ruth’s survival depends on this law. Boaz’s obedience to gleaning law shows covenant faithfulness in practice.

B. Kinsman-Redeemer (Goel)

The “redeemer” is a near relative responsible to:

  • Redeem family land

  • Protect inheritance

  • Preserve lineage

  • Marry widow (levirate-related function)

This protects covenant land distribution. Land is never just property — it is tribal inheritance from God. Ruth’s story hinges on this institution.

6. WIDOWHOOD — SOCIAL VULNERABILITY

Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem as widows. In ancient Israel, widowhood meant:

  • Economic insecurity

  • Loss of male protection

  • Threat to land continuity

  • Social marginalization

Their survival depends entirely on:

  • Torah provision

  • Community obedience

  • Covenant mercy

This sets the stage for Boaz’s role.

7. LINEAGE & INHERITANCE STAKES

Elimelech’s line is at risk of extinction:

  • Elimelech dies

  • His sons die

  • No heirs remain

If the line dies:

  • Land allotment could transfer

  • Family name could vanish

  • Covenant inheritance weakens

So the story tension becomes:

Will this covenant family line disappear?

Ruth’s inclusion becomes the unexpected preservation mechanism.

8. GENTILE INCLUSION TENSION

Ruth is a Moabite. This creates layered tension:

  • Foreign origin

  • Historically strained national relations

  • Yet covenant loyalty (“Your God will be my God”)

She enters Israel not by conquest — but by covenant devotion. She embodies Torah’s provision for the foreigner joining Israel’s God.

Jason B
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