What we call the Old Testament, Jesus referred to as “the law and the prophets.” The Lord intends everything in the Old Testament to bring us to Christ. As our goal in life is to “come unto Christ and be perfected in him,” [2] the Old Testament becomes a precious and invaluable guidebook.

The question posed by this lesson is: How does the story of faithful Ruth help bring us to Christ?

The Story of Ruth: A Great Parable of the Atonement

Suffering from famine, Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, leave their home in Bethlehem along with their two sons to find bread in the land of Moab. For generations the Moabites have been enemies of Israel, although they are kin to Israel, being descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham. In Moab, Elimelech dies; the two sons marry and then die, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, in misery.

Hearing there is bread once again in Bethlehem (intriguingly, the name means “house of bread”), Naomi decides to return to her homeland. She discourages her daughters-in-law from coming with her, as she knows that having no husband or sons she will be reduced to poverty. “Go, return each to [your] mother’s house,” she tells them. Orpah goes “back unto her people, and unto her gods.”  Ruth, however, refuses to return:

“Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” [3]

In this covenant language Ruth renews the covenant she made with God in marrying the son of Naomi. It is in her faithfulness to the covenants she makes with God that Ruth demonstrates her virtue.

If a Woman Vow a Vow...

In ancient times, having “virtue” meant having the strength and courage to be faithful to one’s covenants. The Hebrew word we translate as virtue, chayil¸ did not have the connotation it has today of moral purity — although by definition virtue encompasses moral purity. Virtue was a larger concept than that: it meant faithfulness to the promises one makes to God. This is why Ruth is known by the city of Bethlehem as a “virtuous woman.” [4] In marrying Naomi’s son she has taken upon herself the covenants of Israel and is determined to keep them in accordance with the commandment of the Lord: “If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond… all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand... These are the statutes, which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife.” [5] Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law stems not only from her love for Naomi but also from her determination not to return to the gods of Moab but to honor her commitment to the God of Israel.

In keeping her covenants, Ruth faces hardship. She could have returned to her parents and lived securely, and in gathering with Israel she knows she will live without that security and will be reduced to gleaning the fields alongside the poor. Her mother-in-law has returned to Bethlehem with nothing: “I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty.” But Ruth is determined to do her part by her mother-in-law and goes to the field to glean food for them both.

While gleaning, Ruth encounters Boaz, the lord of the field, who looks upon her with favor and invites her to glean only on his property: “Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here... When thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink.” Ruth finds in Boaz what the saints find in the Savior: that if we stay close to Him, remaining faithful only to Him, He provides bread and water for our souls.

Ruth bows to him and asks: “Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?”

“And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath full been shewed me all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband...  the Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.” [6]

Because of her faithfulness, the Lord brings Ruth under the protection of “the mighty man” Boaz, whose name means strength. Although she has lost everything and comes destitute into the house of Israel, her trust in the Lord God of Israel restores her.  

How many people in our day, like Ruth, have given up everything — houses, homelands, parents, friends — to come unto Christ? How many families of the Saints speak reverently of ancestors who chose to turn their backs on old ways, old gods — in some cases even longstanding family relationships — in order to honor a covenant made with the Lord God of Israel? How many new converts are choosing this difficult path right now, today? Isn’t it our task as Latter-day Saints to do as righteous Boaz did — to watch over them, to care for them, to see to their needs, to help them become one with us?

To those like Ruth who give up so much to follow the Savior, there are great rewards in store. My own great-grandmother, Eliza Seamons England, joined the Church as a girl and left her lush English countryside home for the deserts of Utah. Her father died on the plains when she was 17. Her husband, William England, died at age 37, leaving her with seven children. A widow for the next 60 years, Eliza was able to persevere because of a sacred assurance she received one night that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. When we are confronted with loss, the compensations of the Spirit are greater than any compensation the world can make.

“The Wings of the Lord God of Israel”

Encouraged, Naomi instructs Ruth to go to Boaz and claim the redemptive promises of the covenants of Israel: to ask him to “spread his skirt” over her because he is a “near kinsman.” [7] So Ruth washes and anoints herself and dresses to meet with Boaz.  

Ruth’s actions must be understood in light of the great covenant of redemption. Having lost her husband, Ruth has claim on her husband’s near kin according to the Law of Moses to preserve and protect her as a family member and even to raise up a family by her. The Hebrew word gaon, here translated as kinsman, actually means redeemer.  By the Law, “The wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife.” [8]

So Ruth’s request of Boaz was perfectly in keeping with the law of the Lord. Boaz, as her dead husband’s near kin, has the responsibility to redeem Ruth, to marry and cherish and love her.

The action of “spreading the skirt” was anciently a token of atonement, or redemption, as the following indicates:

“It was the custom for one fleeing for his life in the desert to seek protection in the tent of a great sheik... whereupon the Lord would place the hem of his robe over the guest’s shoulder and declare him under his protection... This puts him under the Lord’s protection from all enemies. They embrace in a close hug, as Arab chiefs still do; the Lord makes a place for him and invites him to sit down beside him — they are at-one. This is the imagery of the Atonement, the embrace.” [9]

As Boaz “spreads his skirt” over Ruth, we are reminded of the “wings of the Lord God of Israel,” in which Ruth had come to trust. We are also reminded of the beautiful imagery of 2 Nephi 1:15: “Behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; …I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.” Because Ruth has remembered to observe the Lord’s statutes, she is redeemed and made one with the Lord’s people. She is married to Boaz and gives birth to Obed, grandfather of King David and an ancestor of the Lord Jesus.

Thus the story of Ruth is a great parable of the Atonement. To be at one with our Savior is to have him “spread the skirt” over us, to take us in his embrace and declare that we belong to him. This is the consummate act of redemption. Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city... doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.” Like Ruth, we become “virtuous” — that is, worthy of the Atonement of Christ — through our faithfulness to our covenants even in the face of hardship. Regardless of the difficulties we encounter in remaining faithful, we must remember that Jesus Christ will not fail to honor His covenants with us. He will gather us to Himself as Boaz cared for Ruth, “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” [10]