Loyalty in famine and loss — a Moabite widow who joined the family tree of kings.
"Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my ______, and thy God my God."
Ruth is one of only two books of the Bible named for a woman — and she wasn't even an Israelite. A Moabite widow becomes the great-grandmother of King David.
At four chapters, Ruth is a single sitting — famine, loss, loyalty, and a wedding, told in about fifteen minutes of reading.
Boaz acts as the 'kinsman-redeemer' — a family member who buys back what was lost. It's the Old Testament's clearest picture of what Christ does for His people.
Ruth's vow — 'whither thou goest, I will go' — was spoken to a mother-in-law, not a husband. It's still read at weddings anyway.