One of the most beautiful and moving stories in the Bible is found in the book of Ruth. But it doesn’t start that way. Set in the dark and precarious times of the Judges, the story of Ruth begins in a place of famine and death. As we’ll see, the first five verses are loaded with contextual information that lay a foundation for the rest of the book. Before we can appreciate the beauty of the story, we have to deal with the disappointment and understand why it’s so important to acknowledge our famines so they don’t define us.