It has been said, about the book of Ruth, that it is, “the loveliest complete work on a small scale... No poet in the world has written a more beautiful short story.” This short story has long been praised for the feel-good, rags-to-riches, loves story that it is. However, to reduce our appreciation of the book of Ruth down to an emotional response, is to neglect some of its greatest contributions to the Bible. If we dig no deeper than surface level, we will miss out on some of the most profound critical commentary on the law that we will find in the Old Testament.