{"id":26173,"date":"2020-11-06T13:58:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T13:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2020\/12\/17\/preaching-on-ruth\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:03:11","slug":"preaching-on-ruth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/preaching-on-ruth\/","title":{"rendered":"Preaching on Ruth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Historical Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The story of Ruth shines like a beautiful beam of light in the darkest of times. The events of the book take place during a low-point in Israel\u2019s history, about the turn of the 11th century BC (around 100 years before King David\u2019s birth). The book itself was likely written sometime during the beginning of David\u2019s reign. One purpose for the writing of the book would have been an authentication of the line of David, which included Ruth, a godly Moabitess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book recalls a period that was filled with idolatry and moral decay. The decades were stained by a black mark. It was the time of the Judges\u2014before Israel had a king and everyone did as they saw fit (17:6; 21:25). But in the midst of the darkness, Ruth, a foreign woman, is an example of what a true Israelite looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israelites were idolatrous. They broke the first commandment by worshipping other gods. They worshiped the gods of their neighbors. They bowed down to Baal, Chemosh, and Molech. It was a time of great insecurity. As the Israelites continued to forsake the Lord God, the Lord God put them into the hands of their enemies. Thus, Israel was in a constant state of war. They needed to continually call upon leaders like Samson, Gideon, Deborah, and Jepthah to fight their battles. It was a terrible time in Israel\u2019s history\u2014a terrible time of chasing after other gods\u2014a time of idolatry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This idolatry led to moral decay. Perhaps the days are best summed up by the events that took place in a town called Gibeah. It was a town located in the region of Benjamin\u2014located just north of Jerusalem. A man, a Levite, was traveling to Jerusalem with his concubine. He needed to stop for the night and find a place to sleep. He didn\u2019t want to stop in a foreign city, so he traveled until he came to Gibeah, a city inhabited by his fellow Israelites. He expected to find hospitality in an Israelite city. And he did. An old man invited him to stay at his house for the night. But after he and his concubine had eaten, a crowd of men pounded on the door. They wanted the old man to send out the Levite so they could have sex with him. Wanting to protect his guest, the old man refused. Instead, he offered the crowd his own daughter and the Levite\u2019s concubine. The concubine was raped throughout the night. When she was released at dawn, she made her way back to the house where her master was staying and fell at the doorway. The next morning, when her master, the Levite woke up, he saw his concubine lying dead in the doorway. He loaded her on his donkey and went home. At home, the Levite dismembered his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts. He sent the parts of her body into all the areas of Israel as a brutal call for Israel to awaken from its moral lethargy. Times were bad in Israel. The Book of Ruth takes place during this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, even in this dark period, God was still working. Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz shine as examples of God\u2019s love and mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the book is named Ruth, her mother-in-law, Naomi, plays a major role (albeit more of a passive<\/em> role). Naomi felt complete emptiness. She lost everyone she loved\u2014her husband and her two sons. It was a heavy emotional loss, compounded by the fact that she had no grandchildren and she was living in a foreign land, outside of Israel. She was a woman, all alone, in a patriarchal society. She had no means for living\u2014nobody to take care of her, nobody to provide her security, nobody to continue her family line. By the end of chapter one, we see the complete and utter despair that plagued Naomi. When she arrives back in Bethlehem and her friends call out to her, she responds \u201cdon\u2019t call me Naomi,\u201d meaning \u201cpleasant,\u201d \u201cCall me bitter.\u201d She is a bitter woman. And as a Jew, she thinks theologically about life. God<\/em> has emptied her. She realized he is sovereign over everything and she blames God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is so entrenched in her own bitterness that she can\u2019t even see how God has already begun to fill her by providing a loyal companion in Ruth. The rest of the book demonstrates God\u2019s filling in her life. In addition to companionship, he provides food, protection, and progeny. Ruth, a Moabitess, and Boaz are the instruments of God\u2019s filling in Naomi\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chart: Preaching Through Ruth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We know the weekly grind of sermon prep is hard, whether you are in the midst of series or planning a new series. Trying to find key verses you need to highlight in your sermon, finding the historical background to the book, discovering the flow\/structure of book, and even figuring out what is the theme of each section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why we created this chart! This chart is designed to\u00a0save you time<\/strong>\u00a0as you prepare to preach a new sermon series from the Book of Ruth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will find a quick visual overview of the movement of the Book of Ruth. It will help orient you and your hearers as you preach through the entire book or sections of the book. It provides, at a glance, one way to divide the book into pericopes. The chart includes key verses in the book, an overarching title for the book, the overall message of the book, and some historical background. It is color-coded to highlight certain defining aspects of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chart could be used as a slide in your church service. It could serve as an introduction to a new series or a weekly check-in before you begin preaching. It could even be printed out and given to the members of your church, as a resource to help them grasp the message of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/span>
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Sermon Series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve preached the Book of Ruth as one stand-alone sermon. Rather than breaking the book into smaller chunks, I kept the story intact by preaching on all four chapters. I\u2019ve preached it as a traditional sermon as well as a first-person narrative; from the pulpit on a Sunday morning and from a stage during a women\u2019s retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the venue, this message has had a couple of different titles: Walking with God; Walking Together.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subject:<\/strong> How does God fill Naomi?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complement:<\/strong> Through the selfless acts of love of Ruth the Moabitess and Boaz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Idea:<\/strong> God fills Naomi through the selfless acts of love of Ruth the Moabitess and Boaz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homiletical Idea:<\/strong> When we walk with God, we walk with others, and God uses that to fill emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose:<\/strong> As a result of preaching this sermon, my listeners will be able to identify their understanding of their present situation as \u201cempty\u201d or \u201cfull\u201d (or somewhere between); list two or three ways in which God is filling them in their emptiness; identify someone they can walk alongside during the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I write down several subject\/complements before I settle on the one that I think best draws out the idea of the passage. When I wrestled with subject\/complement for Ruth, I also jotted down a subject question that emphasized the action of Ruth. The homiletical idea and purpose didn\u2019t change, but in the above example, the action is with God and below, it is with Ruth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subject:<\/strong> How does Ruth show that she embodies what it means to follow God (to be a true Israelite)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complement:<\/strong> She is selflessly loyal to Naomi in her time of emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exegetical Idea: <\/strong>Ruth shows that she embodies what it means to follow God (be a true Israelite) by her selfless loyalty to Naomi in her time of emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homiletical Idea:<\/strong> When you walk with God, you walk with others and God uses that to fill emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose:<\/strong> As a result of preaching this sermon, my listeners will be able to identify their understanding of their present situation as \u201cempty\u201d or \u201cfull\u201d (or somewhere between); list two or three ways in which God is filling them in their emptiness; identify someone they can walk alongside during the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sermon Outline<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Naomi felt complete emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n