Ruth - A Love Story of Restoration & Redemption: Restoring Biblical Womanhood

By Alrinda

The story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz is an inspiring short story about devotion, loyalty, kindness, compassion, and, most of all, love. Ironically, the word 'love' is not even once mentioned in the Book of Ruth, but throughout, you can see the love. It is a story where the characters genuinely display their biblical morals and values. We learn a lot about Jewish customs and God's plan for humanity. It consists of types, patterns and shadows of God's promise that was revealed throughout the New Testament.

As you read and study the Book of Ruth, you will realise that a beautifully profound message is hidden between these pages in the Word of Abba Father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alrinda
• Release date: Mar 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224652105

Book preview

Acknowledgements

Abba Father , nothing

that I write on this page will ever be enough to express my sincere and deepest gratitude and the love that I have for You. Thank You for Your guidance in writing this book and that You thought me worthy enough to be used as an instrument of faith for Your glory. It never would have been possible without You and Your Word. I truly am nothing without You. Abba, thank you for being my Father. To this very day, I cannot fathom the love and grace that You have bestowed upon me.

My husband, thank you for the countless hours, you have selflessly spent proofreading my book. Without your love, care, guidance and support this book would have been nothing close to what it is now. You have poured your heart and soul into this project with me. I will be forever grateful. I am deeply blessed and honoured to be your wife.

It takes a special calling and anointing to love a woman who has been broken and hurt.

When I had nothing to offer but broken pieces, you still chose to be my Boaz…

Chris van Niekerk, my spiritual father and my mentor, who took me under your wing as your own daughter when I was at the most broken stage of my life. You showed me kindness and grace, and you gave me hope. I am where I am today because you showed me the love of Christ when I needed it the most. Truly the most beautiful imitator of Jesus Christ I have ever met.

Foreword

Many years ago,

I listened to a message from a preacher by the name of Dick Reuben. He made a profound statement that changed my entire perspective on the Bible. He said, If the pattern is right, the glory will fall. This intrigued me. What did he mean by this? I came to realise that the Bible is Father Yahweh’s pattern for the salvation of man. Every word, every passage, every story, every parable was created to show us the pattern of His salvation. It shows us the pattern of the Bridegroom Yeshua.

The book of Ruth is just such a pattern. It is the pattern of love and redemption. It is the pattern of grace and salvation. It is the pattern of Yeshua saving the gentile bride. It is the pattern for lost people who are adopted into God’s family. It is the pattern of Yeshua as our Kinsman Redeemer. And for the believer, it is a story of conversion, courage, determination, loyalty, and faithfulness. It contains all the attributes of a loving Messiah and a determined and committed bride.

The book of Ruth is indicative of the perfect love that Father Yahweh presents in the Bible. In the New Testament, it is translated from the Greek word, ‘agapé’ and in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word that best describes this type of love is. ‘chêsêd’. The problem with both these words is that English doesn’t have an equivalent word for them. Agape is commonly translated as ‘love’, ‘kindness’, ‘mercy’, ‘loyalty’ or ‘loving-kindness’. The word ‘chêsêd’ appears three times in the book of Ruth (1:8, 2:20, 3:10), and could best be translated as unselfish, sacrificial, and committed behaviour and attitude. Ruth is an example of living an active, selfless, sacrificial, and caring life. It is the type of love that Yeshua exhibited, and it is the same type of love that He expects from each believer.

In this study guide, Alrinda managed to address and reveal all the wonderful and intriguing mysteries that Father Yahweh has hidden for us in His Word. She unveils the special gifts that are found when we truly search for them. This study guide is a wonderful companion to understanding the underlying truths of the message of Ruth. I personally believe that this book by Alrinda is an extremely important addition to any serious New Testament Bible student’s bookshelf. Not only is it a valuable study guide for women, but for every committed believer.

May our Heavenly Father use the information in this book to give you as a Christian believer a greater hunger to make a deeper study of the wonderful pattern He created in His Word. May we look forward with excitement to the imminent return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Dr Chris van Niekerk

Christ the Way, Truth & Life Ministries

South Africa

www.cwtlm.org

Additional Information

The following information will guide and give you clarity when reading this book.

Names and meaning of names that are used interchangeably:

• Yeshua

The Hebrew name for Jesus Christ (English).

I like to use His Hebrew name when referring to Jesus Christ, which was used by his family and friends at that time and is still used by most Jewish communities.

The word ‘Yeshua’ was used many times from Genesis throughout the Scripture but was translated as ‘Salvation’ due to its meaning.

• Yahweh or YHVH

The Hebrew name for LORD or GOD (English).

I like to use Abba Father as He is our only Father, as Scripture says, but you will notice I also use Yahweh.

• The Word

The Bible (66 books) can also be referred to as the Scriptures.

Icons found in the book

Note: Additional information is shared about the topic.

Manna for thought: Something to think about.

Bible study: Do your own Bible study/research on this topic.

Read and follow: Use your Bible.

Preface

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

2 Timothy 1:8–9

I wrote this

book because I love Yeshua and His Word. It came out of a place of complete humility and obedience unto my First Love, Yeshua, because it is not about me but all about Him. It will always and forever be about Him. Even though the enemy is hard at work every second of my life to tell me otherwise, I know that my Bridegroom, Yeshua, has already overcome and conquered him.

Without Yeshua, I would never have become the woman I am today.

My sin was deep, but His grace and love were much deeper—Abundantly so.

Just as much as I need Abba Father, with every blink of an eye and every breath I take, I came to the earnest realisation that I also need His Word. Just as the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are one, so are Yeshua and the Word one because He is the Word (John 1:1). This is His ketubah (marriage contract), written to all who believe, to His beloved Bride. The most beautiful book ever written in the history of humanity because it was written in His blood and love. This is called ‘agape’ love.

Everything about us should be about Him, and everything about Him should live in and through us; that is why Yeshua said:

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

This is how we were created from the very beginning of time. We were never created for ourselves; we were created for Him. The sooner you accept this truth about yourself, your life, and your very existence, the sooner you will receive the abundance of true life and fulfilment such as you have never experienced. Nothing can, and nothing will ever be able to, fulfil your deepest desires and needs as Yeshua, Jesus Christ, can. This is and will always be an absolute fact as solid as the Rock of Ages.

But for me, it took a few years in ‘Egypt’, and only when I was on my Exodus journey, did I understand who I was and who I was created to be… For me, my journey to redemption all started in the desert, literally but also spiritually. I was a broken young lady seeking fulfilment in the world in all the wrong ways and places. I was in bondage because of sin, generational curses, and soul ties, and it gave Satan, the enemy, the legal right to use me as he pleased. With all of that said, it was by my own doing, by the choices I made throughout the years. With every choice we make comes responsibility and consequences. So, legally, I gave Satan the right to do so. Knowingly and unknowingly.

It took me 22 years to realise and understand the true meaning of being in an intimate relationship and what it meant to be in love. That was the year 2012 when I met Yeshua, Jesus Christ, my First Love. By this, I mean genuinely understanding who I am in Him and why He created me in the first place. But this was only the beginning. This love story gets better.

Since the age of 12, I have had big dreams of travelling and exploring the world. I have always set out to make this dream a reality, but I could never have imagined that Abba Father would take me on a whole other journey that would change my life forever. At the age of 22, my dream came true; I moved overseas to the Middle East, to join the most prestigious airline in the world as a stewardess.

This was my first stewardess job. As much as it was all new, exciting and, of course, a tremendous blessing, it was also very lonely and overwhelming at the same time.

I was a young, naïve, Christian girl, now living in an Islamic country.

Moving out of my comfort zone challenged me, but little did I know this was all part of Abba Father’s grand plan for my life to draw me closer to Him. And let’s be real, nothing good can grow inside a comfort zone. I want to share a few verses of the following Scripture in Hosea with you:

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

Will bring her into the wilderness,

And speak comfort to her.

I will give her vineyards from there,

And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;

She shall sing there,

As in the days of her youth,

As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

And it shall be, in that day,

Says the LORD,

"That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’

And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’

For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,

And they shall be remembered by their name no more."

Hosea 2:14–17

"I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the LORD."

Hosea 2:19–20

"Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,

And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;

Then I