Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.  V1

The author, who is believed to be the prophet Samuel, inspired by the Holy Spirit gives us a timeline of these events, “in the days when the judges ruled” , these events happened around the same time period of the book of Judges between 1380 BC to 1050 BC

We see there is a severe famine in the land, this will kick off a sequence of catastrophic events which God will ultimately use for His glory and the fulfillment of the Messianic line in Jesus Christ. This is a fascinating book of how we connect the dots between the Old Testament to The Lord. 

A certain man of Bethlehem (Elimelech) you should already see the ties to Christ, as this man is a citizen of Bethlehem, a Jew, however due to the severe famine, they were forced to move to Moab to find food. Of course Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem as prophesied by Micah, as we walk through the book of Ruth, we will make all the connections to the Messiah

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  Matthew 2:1

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.  Micah 5:2

The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.  V2

So the mans name is Elimelech, which means “My God Is King” which is very prophetic as this story will be about the Kinsman Redeemer which ultimately leads to Jesus Christ. HIs wifes name is Naomi and their twos sons are Mahlon and Chilion, make note they are all Jewish from Bethlehem, where when the sons move to Moab they will marry gentiles wives (Ruth and Orpah)

Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.  Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.  V3-5

Now here is where the the issues begin, because of the severe famine in the land, Elimelech dies, who is the man of the household, but also Naomi’s sons will also die during this time of famine, this will lead this family in a severe crisis, how will they be able to support themselves?

You must remember during this time period, it was almost impossible for a widow or single mother to raise her family financially. Typically the husband or next of kin, the son, would support the family , however in Naomi’s case , she lost her husband and two sons in a pagan land. 

This reminded me of a scenario the religious leaders were challenging Jesus on who would be the husband of a widow who theoretically lost 7 husbands

23The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27Last of all the woman died also. 28Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”  Matthew 22:23-28

The Sadducees (religious leaders) presented this bizarre challenge to Jesus, about a woman who lost her husband and then all seven of his brothers died, who will be together in the resurrection, what were the religious leaders referencing?

Well they were presenting what we know as “Kinsman Redeemer” during ancient times, if a wife lost her husband, should be married to one of his brothers to provide for her and the family, since there was no welfare or unemployment. While the religious leaders use an exaggerated example to try and trip up Jesus, you can get an understanding of this practice in that time period

This how the story of Ruth begins, with Naomi heading back to Bethlehem to find her Kinsman Redeemer, which will ultimately be found through Ruth, a Gentile in Boaz which is a shadow of Christ