The book of Ruth contains far more about God than its size would suggest; it records experiences of joy and sorrow; it tells a story of home life, romance and marriage, of unexpected conversion and radical consecration.

Here is a vital part of the biblical narrative of redemptive history, focusing like a microscope on part of the detailed preparation God made as he sovereignly directed history towards the coming of the Saviour Jesus Christ. This book helps us to understand Christ himself – and, indeed, the whole Bible – more fully and clearly, and teaches us much about God’s grace and providence.

The book has its origins in a series of memorable addresses given at the English Conference of the Evangelical Movement of Wales in Aberystwyth in August 1996. It includes as a helpful appendix a letter by John Newton on the guidance of God.