NAC

Judges, Ruth: The New American Commentary

Plot

The books of Judges and Ruth present two drastically different pictures of the Israelite people at the end of the second millennium B.C. On the one hand, the book of Judges declares that if God's people ever forget the grace that he has lavished on them in redemption, covenant relationship, and the revelation of his will, the slide into apostasy is inevitable. Repeatedly in the book, by sheer mercy God rescues his people from the dismal fates they, by their own faithlessness and misconduct, have brought upon themselves. The book of Judges teaches its readers in every age that the darker the human heart the more brilliant the light of God's grace. But then there is the book of Ruth. By placing this delightful little tractate after the depressing accounts of the judges and their compatriots, we are reminded that God's kingdom is built not by might but by his Spirit. Furthermore, we are instructed that the Lord's work is accomplished not so much by powerful and charismatic leaders but by ordinary people, who in their daily affairs display the transforming work of the Spirit of God. The characters in this book inspire the readers to rejoice in the hesed (grace, mercy, kindness, love, faithfulness, etc., all rolled into one beautiful Hebrew word) they experience from God and to embody that same hesed in their family and community relationships. - Preface.