THEOSISIsidore of Seville
When Ruth arrived in the land of Israel alongside her mother-in-law, it was ordained, thanks to her prayers, that she would wed a man from Abraham's lineage, whom she initially believed to be her closest relative. However, he declined to marry her, leading to her union with Boaz, witnessed by ten respected elders. Though Boaz had previously claimed that he was unable to marry, he ultimately took Ruth as his wife, receiving blessings from the assembled elders. This scenario foreshadows John the Baptist, whom the people of Israel mistakenly regarded as the Messiah and questioned about his identity. He did not reject Christ, but rather affirmed Him when he stated he was not the Messiah.
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Those sent to question him were unyielding in their inquiry, to which he responded, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness” (John 1:19-27). He proclaimed the arrival of the Lord, explaining that “He who has the bride is the bridegroom,” and identified himself as the friend of the bridegroom, remarking, “But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice” (John 3:29). The people assumed he was the Christ, not realizing that the Messiah would come during a time of divine visitation (see Luke 1:40-45) and that He, heralded by the prophets, was the true Bridegroom of the Church. Just as he informed Ruth that he was not her kinsman before their union with Boaz, so too did Christ, the authentic Bridegroom of the Church celebrated by the prophets' messages, find Himself deserving to claim the Church gathered from all nations, presenting to God the Father a multitude beyond counting from every corner of the earth, as the kinsman had removed his shoe.