Product Description This isn’t the Ruth, the Naomi, or the Boaz we thought we knew. Carolyn Custis James has unearthed startling new insights from this well-worn story … insights that have life-changing implications for you. Naomi is no longer regarded as a bitter, complaining woman, but as a courageous overcomer. A female Job. Ruth (typically admired for her devotion to Naomi and her deference to Boaz) turns out to be a gutsy risk-taker and a powerful agent for change among God’s people. She lives outside the box, and her love for Yahweh and Naomi compels her to break the rules of social and religious convention at nearly every turn. Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer, is repeatedly caught off-guard by Ruth’s initiatives. His partnership with her models the kind of male/female relationships that the gospel intends for all who follow Jesus. 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, combined with the message that God is counting on his daughters to build his kingdom. The Gospel of Ruth vests every woman’s life with kingdom purposes and frees us to embrace wholeheartedly God’s calling, regardless of our circumstances or season of life. 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. Review The Gospel of Ruth sparkles with cultural insights and contemporary illustrations that bring the biblical story of Ruth into direct contact with the lives of women in the twenty-first century. — Robert H. Gundry, Professor, Scholar-in-Residence and Professor Emeritus, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California Carolyn Custis James refuses to reduce Ruth to a pretty story with a nice moral lesson. Instead, she makes this ancient woman of faith come alive for women–and men–today. A work of theological insight and practical Christian wisdom. — Timothy George, Dean of the School of Divinity, Founding Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and a senior editor of Christianity Today In her gutsy profile of biblical Ruth, Carolyn Custis James challenges old religious mind-sets about gender, how God uses women, and how men should respond to the Holy Spirit’s work in women. The Gospel of Ruth is one of the richest and most insightful books I’ve ever read about any woman in the Bible. Carolyn is to be commended for making such a valuable contribution to biblical theology. — J. Lee Grady, Author, Author of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women This is not a woman’s book…it is a powerful book that I wish every man and woman who call themselves Christian would read. Carolyn Custis James peels back the familiar story of Ruth and shows us the undeniable story of courage, equality, and partnership that reflects the gospel and that the world is hungry to see. — Nancy Ortberg, author of Looking for God and Founding Partner of Teamworx2. Writing in an engaging and winsome style, Carolyn Custis James considers the intriguing question, “Is God good for women?” through an in-depth study of the book of Ruth. Women who want to live for Christ will appreciate her critique of the biblical concept of submission in light of the gospel. But don’t leave the men out! They, too, will better understand what it means to be a Christian man through her solidly Christian discussion of male-female relationships in Christ. — Karen H. Jobes, PHD/Gerald F. Hawthorne, Professor, Professor of New Testament Greek and Exegesis, Wheaton College Review In her gutsy profile of biblical Ruth, Carolyn Custis James challenges old religious mind-sets about gender, how God uses women, and how men should respond to the Holy Spirit’s work in women. The Gospel of Ruth is