I was recently reading the book of Ruth. I found this story very interesting especially since the backdrop it is given is the book of Judges. The final verse in the book of Judges states, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This phrase no king in Israel was sticking in my mind as I noticed that the first character in Ruth was Elimelech. I have had very basic instruction in Hebrew enough to know that “El” means God and “melech” means king. This piqued my interest God and king. I looked it up and His name means God is king. In Judges we see the natural appearance that there is no king and in Ruth we see the true reality that God is king.
As we continue on in the book of Ruth we see that despite his name Elimelech had no confidence that God was his king. When things got tough he didn’t put his trust in God, but rather sought a solution in a nation that did not know God with disastrous results. I am sure we all know what happened.
However the story does not end there. We are introduced to Ruth, his daughter-in-law. This is where it gets exciting. She was not raised with the God Israel, but she possessed such a great faith in Him. She takes God as her God and will not leave Naomi. As a foreigner in Israel especially as a Moabitess she would be subject to the hatred of the people, but she had the confidence that God would care for them. This attitude of Ruth is what God had intended for His people that they recognise and trust Him as king.
For you and I, what can we glean from this? With the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven and the New Covenant, God is our king. Do I live in the reality that He is king and will care and provide for me, or do I attempt to look for my provision and protection from myself? I have the testimony of Ruth and others throughout Scripture of what God will do if I trust Him and I am without excuse not to.