The Whole Old Testament: The Book Of Ruth

The Heart of the Old Testament written by Ronald Youngblood is an informative and insightful book. Youngblood identifies the nine themes that form the foundation of the Old Testament. These themes show that the Old Testament is not any different from the New Testament and should not be consider irrelevant when compared to the New Testament. The nine themes include monotheism, sovereignty, election, covenant, theocracy, law, sacrifice, faith and redemption.

The Old Testament is the largest part of the bible nestled behind the leather binding in the front of the book. Unlike most books, told from one-person or even two this is comprised of multiple, some stories even having two different versions in another point of view; over time it has become a large collection of ancient texts written and re-written by different authors and editors over the many years. The stories show the ancient Israelites, they show the laws, and rituals, which make up their religion and the small embers, which will one day, turn to a flame that is Christianity. The Jewish people view these stories as collected in what they call the Torah, is the collection for what makes up their history and the promise that God gave to them, as well as their laws and what they worship today. For the Christians the Old Testament is still seen as sacred, but most place a stronger importance to the New Testament.

Ruth is a Biblical story loved by many. A story of God’s unexpected plan panning out in a style that only He could come up with inspires many to trust His direction. The movie, titled The Story of Ruth, conveys this message though the movie does not always adhere to perfect Biblical accuracy. The addition of certain events and characters enhances the movie’s appeal, yet distracts from the factual account presented in the Bible.

Ruth and James had different experiences when they attended school. Back in the days, when Ruth attended school in Suffolk, there was a split between “white folks’ school and a black folks’ school and a Jewish school,” (McBride 79). The school Ruth attended was not actually a real school, but instead a synagogue, where they did not get a good education compared to what other students were learning in school. In contrast, James “was the only black kid,” (McBride 89), attending in his classroom and he would get called many names because he was the only black kid.

Ruth’s Jewish background, her conversion to Christianity, and James’ childhood influence James’ confusion with his identity. Ruth was born Jewish and lived her life experiencing multiple situations of discrimination growing up. Jews and Blacks were hated upon during that period and by her marrying a black man, it attracted even more discrimination towards her. James experienced discrimination when he was younger because he was black. James knows nothing about Ruth’s past because she had kept it a secret from him and his siblings since they were young. Ruth had taught them a mindset that is set to focus only on education and religion, not focusing on anything else so they couldn’t question other ideas Ruth did not want them to see. When Ruth was living in New York with her husband Andrew McBride, Ruth found out that her mother

Ruth was a source of knowledge that James trusted growing up. James, being a mixed child, is confused about what skin color God would have, so he asks his mother,”

Esther’s faith was tested and strengthened at a young age when her cousin, Mordecai, became her spiritual guide. Even when Esther became Queen of Persia, Mordecai was still there to help guide her in the right direction. Wayne Grudem, who is the editor of The Holy Bible: English Standard Version for Crossway Bibles, talks about how God is not mentioned in the book, but He clearly designed all of its events. Although God is not a character in The Book of Esther, his actions are still visible and He appointed Esther to save His covenant people. Despite fear, Esther knew that by putting her faith in God was the only way she could save the Jews. In The Book of Esther, the meaning of God’s sovereignty is shown. Koeller, who is the author of Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought,

God gives and He takes away, and in the book of Ruth we see God taking away Naomi’s husband and both her sons, but that is not the end of her story. The book of Ruth is a story of God providing for the widow. In Ruth, God supports Naomi by providing a loyal companion in her daughter-in-law, with substantial food, and a husband for her daughter-in-law.

In the novel, ‘Song of Solomon,’ Ruth was perceived as this ruthless, yet very dependent on character when it came to those surrounding her. The author uses Ruth to show how she becomes a symbol of weakness throughout the novel through various instances. Ruth is captured as someone with lack of self-love to which she depends on others to receive her desires of being wanted, such as through Milkman.

The Book of Ruth Ruth is a story about loyalty, love, and faith. The simple love story

The journey Ruth had with Dennis was a very significant journey because Ruth realizes many new things about Dennis. Whenever Ruth was with Dennis she felt alive and free. Dennis was always there for Ruth, no matter what the situation was. Throughout Chapter 23, Ruth goes through many moods, and tones, and they all relate back to Dennis. Ruth talks about many significant events that occurred the time she was Dennis. Ruth uses specific words in her interview to let the readers know what she was feeling.

It is inevitable that at some point in every human life, there will be struggles. It is how these struggles are overcome that real strength is revealed. Struggling is said to show a real appreciation for the good times in life. Each obstacle we overcome strengthens a piece of a person. After Ruth and James faced several integrity testing struggles, they both came to self-realization of whom they are.

The book of Ruth gathers much attention from its readers because of its briefness and simplicity. The book of Ruth is set in ancient Israel in the later portion of the Judges era, as it serves as a bridge between the Judges rule and the monarchy is 1 & 2 Samuel. This order comes from the Septuagint, and is very close chronologically. The book has a relative calmness to it that sharply contrasts the environment it is set in. To the inexperienced reader, the book may seem like just a short story, with little historical background. However, to the experienced and diligent biblical reader, it much more than that, as it contains many themes that are viewed through the all important eyes of a woman.

The first 39 books of the larger work called the Bible, is called the Old Testament. The Bible itself is arguably the best selling and most read book of all time, yet it’s well known to be quite challenging to read through and understand. The Old Testament portion of the Bible, notably the most difficult portion of the Bible for most to study and follow, yields 39 books from multiple authors, and spans over 4000 years of crucial world and church history. If that were not enough to take on, the Old Testament comes our way through multiple styles of authorship and formats, including but not limited to, books of history, law, proverbs, ethics,