What the Moabite?!

The central theme of the book of Ruth is movement from emptiness to fulfillment. The story is understood as the telling of the chesed (loyalty) of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. It is read in the synagogue on Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, in connection with the fifty days between Passover and Shavout. This story speaks of God’s desire to fulfill his promises to even through the most unlikely of people, even an outsider. Ruth is the unmistakable hero of the story as she commits to build the house of Israel by becoming the grandmother of King David. It is a story of how the God of Israel can move anyone from any nation from emptiness to fulfillment when they call on the name of Yeshua.