Ruth and Boaz: Strangers in the Land

“If you were the last man in Bethlehem, I’d never give Naomi to you!  Do you think I’d stain her pure blood with your tainted blood?  You’re nothing but a dirty Canaanite.  How dare you even consider my daughter?  Get out of this house!”

And so Boaz lost Naomi, the most beautiful bride in Bethlehem, to Elimelech.  Instead Yahweh gave him Mena–then took her back.  And now their son, Yatom, joy of his heart, was dying.  Why were the anchors of his life being swept away?  Why would Yahweh punish him so?  Did He, too, detest the foreign blood flowing in his veins?

With a cast of more than 70 characters and a plot that tugs at the heart, Terri Fivash, author of Joseph, breathes new life into the story of Ruth–singer of songs, faithful friend, and daughter of royalty.  But who would have a stranger from a foreign land?

This is a story of Yahweh’s harvest, the harvest of life.  As the sun-golden grain ripens only through the rain, so He turns tragedy into blessing, and empties only to fill full.  Our times are in His hand.

But back to the beginning.  Young Boaz, at play in the fields of Bethlehem, little knew he was a special seedling in Yahweh’s garden.  All he knew was that the raiders were coming . . .