Friends.
What makes someone a good friend?
A friend is someone you like being with and can talk to. Someone you can count on when you’re feeling down, need help, or just want to have fun.
Ruth was a Moabite widow who was a true friend to her Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi. That friendship led Ruth to accept Naomi’s God and to go and live with Naomi in Israel. People admired Ruth for her devotion to Naomi, and Ruth soon remarried. But Ruth is remembered for more than friendship: she was an ancestor of King David and of Jesus Christ.
Ruth Proves Her Friendship
• “I’ll never leave,” widow pledges. Report in Ruth 1
Ruth’s Good Reputation Pays
• Immigrant welcomed, Ruth 2
Child Heals Heartaches
• Infant heals aged widow’s pain, Ruth 4
Preview
• The name “Ruth” means “friendship.”
• Ruth lived during the time of the judges.
• In those days a close relative who helped a widow was called the “guardian-redeemer.”
• God’s Son became a human being so he could be our redeemer.
During this period Phoenician ships trade all along the Mediterranean coast. • Troy is attacked by the Greeks. • And silk fabrics are woven in China.