quality pleasures: A pleasure is of higher quality if people would choose it over a different pleasure even if it is accompanied by discomfort, and if they would not trade it for a greater amount of the other pleasure. Moreover, Mill contends, it is an "unquestionable fact" that, given equal access to all kinds of pleasures, people will prefer those that appeal to their "higher" faculties. A person will not choose to become an animal, an educated person will not choose to become ignorant, and so on. Even though a person who uses higher faculties often suffers more in life (hence the common dictum "ignorance is bliss"), he would never choose a lower existence, preferring instead to maintain his dignity.

Though the story treats Ruth as the heroine, the story revolves around the redemption of Naomi. The book begins and ends focusing on Naomi. This reveals God’s character in His faithfulness toward His covenant promise of protecting His chosen people, His loving kindness in providing for the helpless widow, and His sovereignty in the surprising twist of using the Moabitess to provide for Naomi.28 The sub-theme focuses on Ruth’s redemption and God’s mercy in grafting the Gentiles into His chosen people for redemption.29 The heart of the story is God’s provision, both in expected ways (providing for Naomi and ultimately Israel through Ruth’s line) and in unexpected ways (providing for Ruth, the Moabitess). While Naomi receives provision and blessing, Ruth is God’s instrument for this. It is the Abrahamic covenant in reverse: instead of the nations being blessed through Israel, Israel is blessed through a Gentile.

Ruth exhibits both the typical initiation and death-rebirth cycles of the mythic plots. Naomi’s character, as the Hero Mentor on her own journey (see below), displays the death-rebirth cycle, which “involves a hero who endures death or a deathlike experience and returns to life and security.”19 As a helpless and childless widow, Naomi is in a “deathlike experience.” However, she passes to rebirth at the birth of Obed. Ruth’s character demonstrates both the death-rebirth and the initiation cycles. Like Naomi, she moves from the deathlike experience of the childless widow to the rebirth of marriage. This cycle is represented in miniature at Ruth’s Approach (occurring in the evening), Ordeal (at midnight), Reward (at dawn) (see below for further explanation of these stages).20 As a Moabitess seeking redemption in God’s community, she also undergoes the initiation cycle. “In an initiation story the hero undergoes a series of ordeals as he passes from ignorance and immaturity to social and spiritual adulthood.”21 Ruth’s character, while always exhibiting virtuous character, passes socially to the next level. In the beginning she is known as the Moabitess. However, in the end, she is recognized as an ancestor of the great King David of Israel.

In Ruth, imagery such as provision is embodied in Bethlehem: Bethlehem (בית לחמ) literally means “house of bread.” This is ironic since at the opening of the book, Bethlehem was lacking in bread due to the famine! In 1:6, God visits His people with the purpose of giving them bread. Ruth and Naomi together sojourn to Bethlehem hoping for, and finding, provision through Ruth’s work of gleaning in the field, through Boaz’s generous gift to Ruth, through Boaz’s redemption of Ruth and Naomi’s field, and finally through Obed, the son who holds the hope for future provision. The book begins with a famine but ends with plenty. It is also interesting to note that Ruth’s marriage proposal occurs on the threshing floor, where the grain that provides is created. Not only does she return to Naomi after the marriage proposal with a promise of redemption but also with tangible evidence of grain. The use of the harvest cycle is also prevalent in Ruth. While the family tragedy is surrounded by famine, Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem when the famine has been abated at the beginning of the barley harvest, clueing the reader in to the hope they have.

Pratt fits Ruth into a five-part plot structure.22 Specifically, the plot structure breaks into the following divisions: “I. Naomi’s Bitterness (ch. 1); II. Ruth Discovers Potential Kinsman Redeemer (ch. 2); III. Boaz Agrees to be Kinsman Redeemer (ch. 3); IV. Boaz Acquires Right to be the Kinsman-Redeemer (4:1-12); V. Naomi’s Blessing (4:13-17)”23

Proverbs is a book of fatherly instruction to children

3. The political structure of Judges is not highly centralized. I liken it to the “confederation of states” in American history. The original states were organized as a loosely joined confederation of autonomous, sovereign, states. They operated in unity only at the consent of each of the states. This soon gave way to the federal form of government in which the federal government had considerably greater powers (such as taxation). Likewise, the tribes of Israel operated as a kind of confederation, with each tribe seeking to maintain its sovereignty. Before the period of the Judges, Israel was united under the strong central leadership of Moses or Joshua. When we come to the Book of 1 Samuel, we find the Israelites eventually united under the leadership of its kings (Saul, David, Solomon). The Book of Judges describes a decentralized period of Israel’s history.

While Joshua dealt with Israel as a nation acting in unity, Judges tends to deal with Israel’s tribes independently. Chapter 1 dwells mainly on the tribe of Judah, which teams up with that of Simeon. When we encounter the terms “Judah” and “Simeon,” we are not to think of these men, who are long since dead, but of the tribes of Judah and Simeon. The oppression of a neighboring country, the raising up of a judge, and the liberation resulting may not encompass the entire nation of Israel. It could impact a smaller area and perhaps one or more of the tribes. Thus, the tribes of Israel are dealt with in a case-by-case manner.

Philistine

14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. 15 So I chose as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials.