The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules

God is counting on his daughters to build his kingdom.

This isn’t the Ruth you thought you knew. Award-winning author, Carolyn Custis James has unearthed startling new insights from a well-worn story that have life-changing implications for us today.

Through careful and dynamic biblical scholarship, rediscover the story of Ruth and its characters. Naomi is no longer regarded as a bitter, complaining woman, but as a courageous overcomer. Ruth, typically admired for her devotion to Naomi, is seen as a gutsy risk-taker and a powerful agent for change among God’s people. Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer, is repeatedly caught off-guard by Ruth’s initiatives. His partnership with her models the kind of relationships that the gospel intends for all who follow Jesus.

Carolyn Custis James drills down deeper into the story where she uncovers in the Old Testament the same passionate, counter-cultural, rule-breaking gospel that Jesus modeled and taught his followers to pursue. Within this age-old story is a map to radical levels of love and sacrifice.

The Gospel of Ruth vests every woman’s life with kingdom purposes and frees us to embrace wholeheartedly God’s calling. This story of two women who have lost everything contains a profound message: God created women not to live in the shadowy margins of men or of the past, but to emerge as courageous activists for his kingdom.

© 2009 Zondervan Academic (Audiobook): 9780310771708

Release date

Audiobook: 7 July 2009