Symbolism or..?

I have read the book of Ruth a couple times before this. It’s a short, easy read and it isn’t hard to understand the basic events that happen in the story. However, this time around I tried very hard to read the story as objectively as possible and pay attention to the finer details or what the author may have been trying to especially emphasize.

In particular, after finishing the read through, it made me wonder why the book of Ruth is included in the Bible. To be sure, it is a lovely story and I like it a lot, especially because it’s one of the only Bible stories told from a female’s perspective, but what overall Biblical significance does it carry? I’ve heard a couple sermons on the subject over the years and it has always been said that the story of Ruth illustrates the idea of the kinsmen-redeemer and how that is what Jesus is to us. However, in light of what we have discussed in class as far as that perhaps we read too far into the Bible, is it possible that that is not the case? Could it be that Ruth’s story is included in the Bible because it is simply a nice story? I really don’t know, but it made me wonder a lot more than I have in the past over its purpose. I don’t think that I completely reject the idea that Ruth is used to specifically illustrate the concept of a kinsmen redeemer, but perhaps I shouldn’t take that belief as gospel, as I have been apt to do in the past. Perhaps I should think more critically and simply of why certain stories were included in our modern Bible.