A cycle of sin, oppression, crying out and deliverance.
The story
With no king in Israel, every man does that which is right in his own eyes. Again and again the people turn from God, are oppressed, cry out, and God raises up a deliverer such as Deborah, Gideon and Samson. In these days Ruth comes to Bethlehem.
What it teaches
God is patient and merciful, yet we need a King who can change the heart.
In the Scriptures
Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. Judges 2:16 · KJV
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 · KJV
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Ruth 1:16 · KJV